Guest Post: Title IX- Navigating Delays from State Lawsuit Victories

Last week was just the beginning of litigation on the 2024 Title IX rules, which are set to go into effect on August 1. Where do we stand now? Last week, on June 13, 2024, a federal court in Louisiana upheld a challenge to the proposed Title IX rules, putting a temporary hold on the rule in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana. As long as that ruling is in place, the Title IX rules will not go into effect in those states. Then, just this morning, a federal court in Kentucky issued a similar ruling putting a hold on the rule in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Decisions in lawsuits affecting 16 other states are expected any day now, and many believe the rulings will lead to temporary stays of the effective date of the 2024 Title IX rules in those states, as well.

For those of you in the 26 states that are challenging the rule, it's time to rethink the training you offer your team this summer. That does not mean you shouldn't train. Every Title IX team needs annual training on properly handling civil rights, and as a former OCR attorney myself, I wouldn't be surprised if OCR scrutinizes any school district, college, or university whose Title IX Coordinator hasn't received significant training on the new rules by August 1.

But is training this summer focused exclusively on the new Title IX rules the best idea? Perhaps not. Yes, the rules might go into effect on August 1. But they may also go into effect in 26 states in November 2024, or June 2024, or August 2025, based on whenever the litigation is finalized. Indeed, if Donald Trump wins the Presidency, the delays of litigation may mean that the rule is never finalized, if Congressional Republicans are intent on using a procedural maneuver known as the Congressional Review Act to try to overturn the rule. Notably, that would be an outcome that would impact every state in the nation, not just those that have filed suit challenging the rules.

That is why instead of training only on the 2024 regs, I recommend you consider a different approach. Look for training that mixes a refresher on the 2020 Title IX rules, training on fundamentals of sexual harassment grievance processes generally, and the mandated topics required by the 2024 rules. This will allow you to hedge your bets and avoid putting your Title IX team through training that they might very well forget by the time they need it—if they need it at all. 

Of course, for those of you in the 24 states that have not signed onto lawsuits, you can continue with any training, even training that focuses solely on the 2024 rule. Even some of the most conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices have expressed animus toward nationwide injunctions, making an injunction impacting those 24 states unlikely unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in. Whether the Court will weigh in at all is anything but certain, and even if it does the likelihood of a decision by August 1 is slim. Accordingly, the rules will almost certainly go into effect on August 1 in those jurisdictions. Where there is some risk, however, that the Supreme Court or Congress may take action that impacts every state in the nation, even school districts in those 24 states would be well advised to seek out this type of training “hedge.” 

If you would like to know more about this topic, check out my full blog post on my Civil Rights Insights blog. And if you have any questions or are looking for training options that meet these recommendations, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.