President Trump’s Department of Education announced Monday that it has scrapped Biden-era Title IX rules that strengthened protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity at schools and universities that receive federal funding.
The rules formally rescind regulations put in place by the Biden administration that also expanded the definition of sexual harassment — broadening the number of complaints schools were required to investigate.
“Today’s rulemaking clears the Biden Administration’s illegal rewrite of Title IX from the Code of Federal Regulations and restores the commonsense language promulgated in the first Trump Administration, which we have been enforcing since the first days of the Administration,” US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement on Monday.
“Thanks to today’s action, the published Title IX regulations faithfully reflects court orders and Congressional intent—reducing confusion for parents, students, and educational institutions,” McMahon said.
“We will continue to relentlessly champion equal opportunity for all Americans and hold accountable any school or college that violates the rights, privacy, or athletic opportunities of our women and girls.”
Nothing is expected to change in practice for students, parents, and teachers, as the department has enforced its own rules since President Trump took office last year.
Title IX is a landmark civil rights law passed in 1972 that banned sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funds.
The DOE’s move will return Title IX regulations to match those from Trump’s first presidential term, which established a stricter and narrower definition of what constitutes sexual harassment and gave more due process to those accused of misconduct.
The Biden administration’s regulations also axed a requirement to only investigate incidents that occurred on campus and allowed schools to probe alleged sexual misconduct at school events or activities.
The Biden-era reforms, however, were already struck down after facing immediate legal challenges from Republican states.
The Department of Education said litigation against the Biden rule continued, with appeals pending into 2026, according to an agency fact sheet.
After the appeals were ultimately dismissed in August, the administration took the final step of formally removing the vacated rule from the Code of Federal Regulations.
Monday’s announcement prompted backlash from some advocates who argued that key federal protections for LGBTQ+ people and sexual assault survivors would be set back.
The day before the announcement, outrage from a civil case also prompted New York prosecutors to reopen a criminal investigation into an alleged gang-rape of a former student involving seven fraternity brothers at Cornell University in 2024.
The shocking allegations waged against the Chi Phi frat bros have sparked conversations among lawmakers, celebrities, and social media users about the prevalence of sexual harassment on college campuses.
“We know who will be hurt: women, girls, and others who are vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and abuse — including LGBTQ+ students,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement after the Title IX switch-up.
“The fact that they’re dropping this rule into place abruptly, without a comment period, denying families, educators, loved ones and the students themselves a say in how they should be treated, shows how little they care about the safety of our students.”
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