On January 31, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education released a Dear Colleague letter regarding the enforcement of Title IX following Tennessee v. Cardona, No. CV 2:24-072-DCR, 2025 WL 63795, (E.D. Ky. 2025). (Link to full case below). As you may recall, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a decision on January 9, 2025, vacating the 2024 Title IX Rule, preventing enforcement in any jurisdiction.
In light of the District Court’s decision, and in light of President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has stated that it will enforce Title IX under the 2020 Title IX Rule and the regulations outlined in 34 C.F.R. 106 et seq., but exclude the 2024 Title IX Rule. Further, OCR stated that open Title IX investigations initiated under the 2024 Title IX Rule should be adjusted immediately to comply with the 2020 Title IX Rule.
This directive, and the underlying case law and Executive Order, mark a significant change in policy and practice for schools that were previously applying the 2024 Title IX Rule. All schools should do a careful review of their enacted policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the 2020 Title IX Rule, as described.
If you need assistance with the changes to Title IX, or for more information about this article, please contact Tressler attorney Katie Ngo at kngo@tresslerllp.com.
Tennessee vs. Cardona 2025: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-dis-crt-e-d-ken-nor-div-at-cov/116844509.html