On June 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) issued 701 pages of proposed amendments to the Title IX regulations. The Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Notice”) explaining the following:
“The purpose of the proposed regulations is to better align the Title IX regulatory requirements with Title IX’s nondiscrimination mandate, and to clarify the scope and application of Title IX and the obligation of all schools, including elementary schools, secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, and other recipients that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department [“recipients or schools”] to provide an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including through responding to incidents of sex discrimination. The Department recognizes that schools vary in size, student populations, and administrative structure. The proposed regulations would enable all schools to meet their obligations to comply fully with Title IX while providing them appropriate discretion and flexibility to account for these variations.”
Beginning on pages 4-6 of the Notice, the Department explains the specific areas in which their concerns are directed towards, including, but not limited to, requiring recipient or schools to adhere to the grievance procedures to resolve sex discrimination complaints; the scope of Title IX as it relates to sex discrimination; proposed regulations in relation to sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination against individuals who are pregnant or parenting. By proposing the amendment, it is the Department’s goal “to fully effectuate Title IX by clarifying and specifying the scope and application of Title IX protections and recipients’ obligation not to discriminate on the basis of sex.”
To read the Department of Education Notice, click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and the McGown & Markling Team.
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always-changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.