President Joe Biden released updated revisions for Title IX on Friday, aiming to protect LGBTQ+ people and victims of campus sexual assault, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Title IX is a civil rights law implemented in the United States as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. The law prohibits sex discrimination in public schools and federally funded programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The 1972 Title IX law does not address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the revised law tackles this issue.
Despite the administration addressing LGBTQ+ people, the revised Title IX law does not mention transgender athletes, according to the L.A. Times article.
The Biden Administration originally planned to create a policy forbidding schools from banning transgender athletes, but the administration postponed the creation of this policy, according to the AP article. People suspect the delay is a political tactic, as Republicans advocate to ban transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
While the new rules do not address transgender people in sports, they do recognize transgender students by clarifying that treating transgender students differently from cisgender students is discrimination, according to the L.A. Times article.
During former President Donald Trump’s presidency, Title IX codified sexual assault provisions for the first time, according to a New York Times (NYT) article. With this, the provisions supported accused students’ due process rights, and schools had fewer legal liabilities. Additionally, there were stricter constraints on how schools could conduct unbiased investigations.
Numerous alterations in the law are not meant to ensure that institutions respond to sexual assault complaints, according to the AP article. Rather, the rules generally expand the type of misconduct schools should address, while also giving protection to students who report accusations.
“The new regulations put an end to unfair and traumatic grievance procedures that favor harassers,” Kel O’Hara, a senior attorney at Equal Rights Advocates said in an NYT article. “No longer will student survivors be subjected to processes that prioritize the interests of their perpetrators over their own well-being and safety.”
Although Biden revised the policy, some of the provisions Trump created during his presidency remain, according to the NYT article. These preserved updates include one policy allowing informal resolutions and another avoiding penalties against students until after investigation.
While the provisions protect victims, they also protect accused students, according to the AP article.
The new policy states that all students should be treated equally in the trial process by saying that they should be able to present evidence and witnesses, according to the AP article. Additionally, colleges are required to have an appeals process, and students are allowed to bring an advisor to the hearings.
Betsy DeVos, who served as Trump’s education secretary, said the Biden administration aims to return to times when sexual misconduct was not resolved by seeking justice, according to the NYT article. Because of this, she criticized the practice of referring such matters to campus courts.
While DeVos criticized this decision, Education Secretary Miguel Cordona said the new rule ensures that safe schools are accessible and respectful to everyone, according to the AP article.
“No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love,” Cordona said in the AP article. “Sadly, this happens all too often.”
