Title IX rules in effect in some states

Patchwork of protections leaves students in limbo

By: Kayia Jimenez
and Zachary Schermele
USA today

.... For John Brun, going to college was transformation. The 20-year-old grew up in a conservative Christian household in northern Kentucky and came out to his family as gay his junior year in high school.
..... After graduating, he enrolled at Northern Kentucky University, a public college near the Ohio border. There, he found community and acceptance he'd never felt before. He became the president of a club for queer students.
..... The Biden administration's new anti-discrimination protections that became law on Thursday [08/01/2024] are designed to protect students like him. But court battles have fractured those efforts, leaving K-12 schools and colleges nationwide in flux.
..... The Education Department's revisions of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools that receive federal funding, marked the first time the statue will grant explicit safeguards for queer and transgender students, plus school staff.
..... The new guidance was also created to bolster the rights of victims of sexual misconduct and pregnant or parenting students. The law was passed in 1972 to protect women and girls from sex-based discrimination in schools - guaranteeing equal access to academic and athletic programs.
..... As the new version became official Thursday, [08/01/2024] one thing was clear: The revised law won't be in effect for everyone.
..... Kentucky, where Brun attends college, is among more than half of U.S. states where the new rules have been stalled by legal challenges, prompted by opponents of civil rights for LGBTQ+ students.
..... In states where the new rules are in effect, the lack of clarity and consistency nationwide has cerated anxiety for students headed back to school.
..... The legal wrangling has resulted in a patchwork of standards, with some schools still abiding by Trump-era rules, while others operate under Biden-era regulations.
..... The Trump-era Title IX regulations, which made it tougher for students and school staff to prove allegations of sex-based misconduct, will remain in effect in more than two dozen states - Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginie, West Virgina and Wyoming.
..... The law as it will be enforced in those states, will not include the robust new safeguards for LGBTQ+ and pregnant and parenting students, nor dos it expand the definition of sexual assault."
..... In April, [2024] the Biden administratrix released its long-awaited revisions of title IX. At the time, the U.S. Department of Education told school leaders to prepare to work under the new guidelines beginning August 1. [2024]
..... Then came a surge of anger and legal filings.
..... The revised Biden administration rules are now blocked in more than half of U.S. states, and conservative groups have argued the court orders should also prevent the law form taking effect at hundreds of collages and thousands of K-12 schools. Earlier this month, [07/2024] the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to refine the scope of related court orders, restricting what's in dispute to the rules that offer new protections for transgender students.
..... In the meantime, school officials are scrambling to understand which portions of the regulation apply in their states.
..... After "long days and countless hours" pressuring the Biden administration to reverse the old rules, students advocates and survivors are "devastated, frustrate and honestly confused," said Andrew Echols, the executive director of the Every Voice Coalition, an advocacy group for student survivors of sexual assault and harassment. The group signed a joint letter in October [2023] urging the administration to make wife changes to the proviso regulations.
..... "Reading and holding the text of the new regulations was an indescribable feeling," Echols said, "but it also came with the feeling of impending doom, knowing legal action would be coming."
..... That doom is now a reality, with some students saying they'd be hesitant to file a complaint if they experienced sexual harassment or violence, Echols said. At the same time, he said, students at schools and in states where the new rules are in place are more enthusiastic about pushing their cases forward.
..... Students confused about which regulations apply in their cases should consult a confidential Title IX advocate on their campus, Echols said.
..... Last week, [07/25/2024] the Education Department offered guidance for school districts affected by the new regulations. The agency advised schools to update their nondiscrimination policies and ensure accommodations are in place for studiedness to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The instructions do not apply in states where the Biden administration guidance is blocked.
..... In June, [2024] a federal judge in Kentucky banned the updated law in six states, opening his court order with he phrases: "There are two sexes: \male and female." The Kentucky judge's decision was one of several preliminary injunctions ordered in recent weeks to halt part of the regulations. Another came Wednesday [07/31/2024] night.
..... In July, [2024] a judge in Kansas prohibited any school attended by the children of moms for liberty members from abiding by the latest version of the rules. Many of these schools are in states, such as California and New York, where the Biden administration's new rules are simultaneously in effect.
..... The far-right group has been calling on parents who oppose the regulations to join its ranks and include their schools on the growing list of campuses banned form enforcing them.
..... The Biden administration urged the Supreme Court last month [06/2024] to partially strike down the lower-court injunctions blocking portions of the new rules. The Justice Department asked the high court justices to halt two preliminary injections, the Kentucky ruling and one in Louisiana. In a court filing, administration officials said that denying the request to narrow the scope of the bans would "cause direct, irreparable harm to the United States and the public."
..... It's unclear when the court might hand down a decision.

..... Contributing: Sara Chernikoff USA Today.

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