50th anniversary of Title IX brings proposed key changes

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) was signed into law on June 23, 1972. The legislation declared, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” In the last fifty years, Title IX has expanded access to educational programs, including athletics, and provided students protections from sexual harassment.

On the 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights legislation, the Department of Education (ED) released proposed amendments to the regulations implementing Title IX, changing certain aspects of the regulations issued in May 2020 and effective August 2020. The proposed regulations will be open for public comment for sixty (60) days following publication in the Federal Register. ED will then address all substantive comments before it publishes the Final Rule.

There are no immediate required actions for higher education institutions in the short-term. The current Title IX regulations took almost two years from the proposed rulemaking notice date (November 2018) to when the rule took effect in August 2020. Institutions should proactively consider their existing policies and procedures relative to the latest proposed guidance and regulations as well as continue to identify opportunities to improve compliance and streamline processes relative to the existing guidance they are required to follow.