Dear Higher Education Readers … The spring of 2024 not only brought with it the release of Season 3 of the Netflix blockbuster Bridgerton, but also the release of revised Title IX regulations. On April 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education issued updates to the Title IX regulations, largely designed to address how institutions handle sexual harassment, sexual assault, discrimination (particularly addressed to the LGBTQ+ community) and other forms of sex-based mistreatment. While it seemed then that the Aug. 1, 2024, deadline to align institutional policies to the new regulations was far in the distance, that deadline is now upon us. If you are still working on revising your policies and procedures (or have not yet begun!), it is time to move this task to the top of your summer to-do list.
Be advised, however, that some federal courts around the country have issued injunctions that may impact certain institutions’ deadline to comply with the 2024 regulations. On July 2, 2024, for example, a federal court in Kansas enjoined the Department of Education from “implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action to enforce” the revised regulations in Kansas, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming and schools in other states that are attended by members of Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United or Moms for Liberty.[i] On July 11, 2024, a court in Texas followed suit, issuing an identical injunction in Texas.[ii] These states join Indiana, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia on the seemingly ever-expanding list of states in which the implementation of the 2024 regulations has been delayed by judicial action.
[i] Kansas v. United States Dept. of Educ., Case No. 24-4041, 2024 WL 3273285 (D. Kan. July 2, 2024).
[ii] Texas v. United States Dept. of Educ., Case No. 2:24-cv-00086, 2024 WL 3405342 (N.D. Tex. July 11, 2024).
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