After pendulum swings, Title IX saga continues

On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it will host public hearings on the Title IX final rule issued a little over a year ago and that went into effect on August 14, 2020. The announcement follows decades of heated debate over the role of educational institutions in preventing and addressing incidents of sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

President’s Executive Order

The announcement was issued following President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO)on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The order directed the DOE's secretary to review the final rule issued under the Trump administration in May 2020 and any other agency actions taken under that rule. It includes a directive to “consider suspending, revising, or rescinding—or publishing for notice and comment proposed rules suspending, revising, or rescinding—those agency actions that are inconsistent with the policy set forth in [the EO].”