The new regulations will go into force only a few months before the presidential elections and will apply to complaints of sex-based discrimination filed on or after August 1.
The Biden administration completed the long-awaited revision of Title IX, the decades-old federal law that protects students from discrimination based on gender and sex.
The rules will reverse the Trump-era policies that critics claim have strengthened the rights of those accused of sexual assault on college campuses for years. During Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, he described his predecessors’ Title IX regulations as a green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their rights.
The new regulations will allow institutions to declare someone guilty of sexual misconduct by applying lower standards. Additionally, the federal government will increase its expectations of schools nationwide by requiring them to quickly respond to all forms of sex-based discrimination, not just sexual harassment, which is the current threshold.
The college will also do away with the controversial requirements for live hearings, including traumatic cross-examination between victims and those accused of sex-based misconduct.
Since Biden took office, victims’ rights advocates have actively advocated for this change. The rule was announced months after the Education Department first stated it would be finalized, and it took years to navigate federal red tape. To date, it hasn’t overcome all of the obstacles.
The regulations will officially expand the rights of the LGBTQ staff and students that will protect people who identify as queer and transgender from any form of harassment or discrimination in any school that receives federal funding.
According to the Education Department, the regulations will take effect on August 1 and apply to complaints made on or after that date. The announcement fulfills one of Biden’s main campaign promises; however, it comes toward the end of his first term.
Supporters of the president’s initiative have become skeptical due to the government’s slow pace, even though opponents of the Trump Era rules have praised the Biden administration. Depending on the election’s outcome, a potential second term would likely start reserving the process.
Emma Grasso Levine, a senior manager with the survivor-led advocacy group Know Your IX, cautioned that universities now have a lot of work to do in a short period.
It is time for school administrators to implement and enforce the updated guidance quickly. Levine added that students survivors of sexual violence, LGBTQ+ students, and pregnant and parenting students cannot afford to suffer any longer under policies that jeopardize their right to education.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., among many other Republicans in Washington, has taken the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in their criticism of Biden’s approach to Title IX. A conservative lawmaker has accused the president of trying to “radically redefine sex and gender.”
The Biden administration is also trying to curtail school’s abilities to prevent transgender athletes from competing in sports. A new regulation released in April last year outlined a more sophisticated strategy to allow trans students to participate in teams that reflect their gender identity but are subjected to certain limitations.
In recent times, the participation of trans students in school sports has gained political prominence as part of a more extensive conservative-led campaign to limit the rights of trans in sporting activities.
Former President Trump has seized the issue as he looks to oust Biden this autumn, ranting about how much he despises trans athletes.
The Educational Department declined to comment when asked whether concerns about the election have influenced the timeline for the regulations of trans athletes on Thursday.
