WASHINGTON (AP) – In a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of Education has announced that schools and universities must revert to the sexual misconduct policies established during President Donald Trump’s first term. This change, detailed in a memo released on Friday, emphasizes requirements for live hearings and increased protections for students accused of misconduct, following a federal court ruling that overturned the Biden administration's Title IX regulations.
The memo states that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and was enacted in 1972, will now be enforced according to the 2020 regulations set forth by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. These regulations outline how institutions should investigate complaints of sexual misconduct and manage cases involving conflicting accounts.
Colleges had already begun to transition back to DeVos’s 2020 guidelines after a federal judge in Kentucky ruled against the Biden administration's Title IX rules, effectively mandating a return to the previous policies. The Education Department criticized Biden’s rules as an “egregious slight to women and girls,” asserting that under the Trump administration, the Department aims to uphold equal opportunities for all students, particularly emphasizing the rights of women and girls to safe facilities and activities.
The Biden administration's attempt to expand Title IX to include protections for LGBTQ+ students and widen the definition of sexual harassment faced significant challenges. A U.S. District Judge in Kentucky declared that Biden's changes were unconstitutional, claiming they infringed on free speech rights by obligating schools to respect students' preferred pronouns. This ruling determined that Title IX should not encompass more than its original parameters established by Congress.
Even prior to the Kentucky ruling, Biden’s Title IX regulations had been halted in several states due to ongoing legal disputes initiated by Republican officials. Although the original Title IX law is succinctly stated in just 37 words, the federal government has added extensive guidelines over time, with DeVos's 2020 policy encompassing around 500 pages to clarify how educational institutions must address sexual misconduct complaints and ensure compliance.
The Education Department has already initiated a probe into Denver schools for converting a girls’ restroom into an all-gender facility while maintaining a boys-only restroom. This investigation indicates a decisive pivot back to stricter enforcement of Title IX guidelines as set during the Trump administration.
Under this new directive, investigations that commenced under Biden's regulations must be realigned to completely adhere to the requirements stated in the 2020 Title IX Rule. The DeVos guidelines were praised by advocates who argued that colleges had become overly swift in penalizing students accused of sexual misconduct without providing them a fair chance to defend themselves. However, victims' rights groups criticized these rules, claiming they would counteract the reporting of assaults by traumatizing victims further.
One of the most debated elements of the 2020 policy was the mandate for colleges to conduct live hearings where accused students had the right to cross-examine their accusers through an adviser. In contrast, Biden’s regulations made such hearings optional. The 2020 policy also narrowed the definitions of sexual harassment and restricted the scope of cases that schools were required to address, thereby lessening the colleges' legal liabilities by stating that the institutions would only be held accountable if they acted with “deliberate indifference.”
In related news, Trump’s nominee for education secretary is Linda McMahon, a pivotal figure linked to the World Wrestling Entertainment industry. Her confirmation hearing in the Senate is yet to be scheduled, which adds to the anticipated shifts in educational policies moving forward.
