By COLLIN BINKLEY (AP Education Writer)
The federal government has finalized rules that will safeguard the rights of LGBTQ+ students and provide new protections for victims of campus sexual assault under Title IX, as pledged by President Joe Biden.
The revised Title IX regulation issued by the Education Department dismantles rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Biden. created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who added new protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.
However, Biden’s policy does not mention transgender athletes.
Initially, the administration planned to introduce a new policy preventing schools from implementing outright bans on transgender athletes, but that provision was delayed, seen as a political move during an election year where Republicans have prohibitions on transgender athletes in girls’ sports. forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes, but that provision was put on hold. The delay is widely seen as a political maneuver during an election year in which Republicans have rallied around bans on transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
Instead, Biden is officially repealing sexual assault rules established by his predecessor and current election-year opponent, former President Donald Trump. The final policy received praise from advocates for victims, while Republicans argued that it undermines the rights of accused students.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona stated that the new rule ensures that everyone can attend schools that are safe, welcoming, and respectful of their rights.
Cardona told reporters, “No one should face bullying or discrimination simply because of who they are or who they love. Unfortunately, this occurs all too frequently.”
Biden’s regulation aims to clarify schools’ obligations under Title IX, the 1972 women’s rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education. It applies to colleges and elementary and high schools that receive federal funding. The update is set to take effect in August.
One of the major changes is the acknowledgment that Title IX protects LGBTQ+ students — a point of intense conflict with Republicans.
The 1972 law does not directly address this issue, but the new rules specify that Title IX also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who experience discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek help from the federal government.
Many Republicans argue that Congress never intended for such protections to be covered under Title IX. Previously, a federal judge blocked Biden administration guidance with the same effect after 20 Republican-led states challenged the policy.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, expressed that the new regulation poses a threat to decades of progress for women and girls.
In a statement, Foxx said, “This final rule exacerbates the already heated dispute that is Democrats’ contentious culture war, which aims to redefine sex and gender in a radical way.”
Over the past few years, several Republican-controlled states have enacted laws that limit the rights of transgender children, including prohibiting gender-affirming medical care for minors. Additionally, at least 11 states restrict the use of bathrooms and locker rooms by transgender students, preventing them from using facilities that correspond with their gender identity.
But the regulation shows that treating transgender students differently from their peers is unfair, which puts the state's bathroom rules in danger, according to Francicso M. Negron Jr., an attorney specializing in education law. This means that schools following state laws might break Title IX.
Negron said the regulation does not seem to clash with demands in at least eight states that schools inform parents if their kids are transgender. Nothing in the regulation, he said, stops a receiver from sharing details about a minor child with their parent who has the legal right to receive information on behalf of their child.
The modification was proposed almost two years ago but has been delayed by a comment period that attracted 240,000 responses, a record for the Education Department.
Many of the changes are intended to ensure that schools and colleges address complaints of sexual misconduct. In general, the rules broaden the types of misconduct that institutions must handle, and they offer more protections to students who make accusations.
The most significant change is a broader definition of sexual harassment. Schools now have to address any unwelcome sex-based behavior that is so “serious or widespread” that it hinders a student’s equal access to an education.
Under the DeVos rules, behavior had to be “severe, widespread, and objectively offensive,” a higher standard that excluded some forms of misconduct from being covered by Title IX.
Colleges will no longer be obligated to hold live hearings to allow students to question each other through representatives — a distinctive provision from the DeVos rules.
Live hearings are allowed under the Biden rules, but they are optional and come with new limitations. For example, students must be able to participate in hearings remotely, and schools must reject questions that are “unclear or harassing.”
Instead of live hearings, college officials can interview students separately, allowing each student to propose questions and receive a recording of the responses.
Those hearings were a major point of contention for advocates of victims, who said it compelled survivors of sexual assault to confront their attackers and discouraged people from reporting assaults. Supporters argued that it provided accused students with a fair process to question their accusers, stating that universities had become too quick to rule against accused students.
Advocates for victims praised the changes and urged colleges to implement them promptly.
“After years of pressure from students and survivors of sexual violence, the Biden Administration’s Title IX update will make schools safer and more accessible for young people, many of whom experienced irreparable harm while they fought for protection and support,” said Emma Grasso Levine, a senior manager at the group Know Your IX.
Despite the emphasis on protections for victims, the new rules maintain certain rights for accused students.
All students must have equal access to present evidence and witnesses under the new policy, and all students must have equal access to evidence. All students will be allowed to bring an advisor to campus hearings, and colleges must have an appeals process.
In general, students who are accused won’t be disciplined until they’re found responsible for misconduct, but the rule allows for immediate removal if it’s considered a campus safety issue.
The most recent major change continues a repeated political struggle as presidential administrations continuously revise the regulations concerning campus sexual misconduct.
DeVos objected to the new rule, stating on social media platform X that it adds up to “ an attack on women and girls.” She mentioned that the new procedures for dealing with sexual assault allegations signal a return to “times when sexual misconduct was handled by unfair campus systems, rather than being resolved in a way that truly pursued justice,” she stated.
The DeVos rules themselves were a reworking of an Obama-era policy that aimed to pressure colleges to take allegations of campus sexual assault more seriously. Now, after years of almost constant changes, some colleges have been advocating for a political compromise to stop the rapid changes. ___
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