2024 Title IX Rules Blocked

January 10, 2025 By Gust Rosenfeld In Legal Alerts

            On January 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky vacated the 2024 Title IX rules (“2024 Rules”) issued by the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”). State of Tennessee v. Cardona, No. 2:24-00072 (Jan. 9, 2025). The court found that the 2024 Rules violated the First Amendment, are vague, overbroad, arbitrary, and capricious, and violate the Spending Clause of the Constitution. 

            The court’s decision applies nationwide, meaning the 2024 Rules are no longer legally effective. Per the court’s decision, school districts implementing the 2024 Rules may “return to the status quo” regarding Title IX. However, it is not entirely clear what the “status quo” means. What is clear is that school districts are no longer required to comply with the 2024 Rules to receive federal funding.

            Further, on January 20, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government (the “EO”).  The EO ordered the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“Secretary”) to provide “clear guidance expanding on the sex-based definitions” outlined in the EO, which include sex, women, men, female, male, gender ideology, and gender identity. This guidance will directly impact the Department and how it “enforces laws governing sex-based rights,” including Title IX. The Department must “promptly rescind all guidance documents inconsistent” with the EO. Notably, the EO undoes the Biden Administration’s efforts to extend Title IX discrimination protections to transgender students. The EO will likely be challenged in the courts. 

            The Department has yet to issue guidance for school district implementation of Title IX. It is anticipated that the Department will do so following the guidance provided by the Secretary regarding sex-based definitions.

 

 

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