On Monday, President Trump’s Department of Education announced that it is rolling back Title IX rules established during the Biden administration. These previous regulations had enhanced protections related to sexual orientation and gender identity in federally funded educational institutions.
The new decision reverses regulations that expanded the definition of sexual harassment, which in turn increased the number of cases schools were obligated to investigate.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated that the action taken restores the original language from the Trump administration’s first term, claiming it aligns better with court rulings and Congress’s original intentions. “This clears away the Biden Administration’s reinterpretation of Title IX from the federal regulations, which we have been enforcing since the first days of this Administration,” she noted.
McMahon also expressed that the updated Title IX regulations will lessen confusion among parents, students, and educational institutions. She emphasized the department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring equal opportunities for all Americans and holding schools accountable for any violations against women’s and girls’ rights and opportunities.
Notably, it appears that students, parents, and teachers might not see any practical changes, as the department has been implementing its rules since the beginning of Trump’s presidency last year.
Title IX, which was enacted in 1972, is a significant civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in any educational program receiving federal assistance.
The recent actions from the Department of Education revert Title IX regulations to those from Trump’s first term, which had a more limited definition of sexual harassment and offered greater due process to individuals accused of misconduct.
The Biden administration’s rules had also eliminated the requirement for schools to investigate only incidents that took place on campus, allowing them to look into allegations occurring during school-related events or activities.
However, those Biden-era changes had faced immediate legal challenges from Republican states and were subsequently overturned. The Department of Education indicated that the legal disputes regarding the Biden rule are ongoing, with some appeals expected to persist into 2026.
After the final appeals were dismissed in August, the department took the decisive step of removing the formerly contested rule from the Code of Federal Regulations.
The announcement on Monday was met with criticism from various advocates who expressed concern that vital federal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals and survivors of sexual assault may now be compromised.
Just a day before this decision, the reopening of a criminal investigation into an alleged gang-rape involving students at Cornell University garnered significant attention, reigniting discussions around sexual harassment in colleges.
According to Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, “We know who will be hurt: women, girls, and others who are vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and abuse — including LGBTQ+ students.” She criticized the abrupt implementation of these changes without allowing for public input, suggesting that it reflects a disregard for student safety.
