The 2024 Title IX Regulations - What Superintendents Need To Know

The U.S. Department of Education released revisions to Title IX on April 19, 2024. The amended Title IX regulations, which will be effective on August 1, 2024, make several important changes to the protections for LGBTQ+ students, employees, and parents and the processes K-12 schools use to address reports of sex-based discrimination, including harassment and retaliation, under Title IX.

The rules, for the first time, codify protections for LGBTQ+ students, employees, and parents, against discrimination, including harassment, based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The rules do not make any changes to rules regarding athletics participation by transgender students, which may be addressed in later rulemaking, but do purport to apply to the use of intimate facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms. We expect to see legal challenges soon because of the potential conflicts between these mandates and state laws. 

The rules now cover not just sexual harassment but also all types of sex-based harassment and discrimination. With respect to “hostile environment sexual harassment,” the rules broaden the definition to include conduct that is severe but not pervasive or pervasive but not severe. The rules also now cover more off-campus conduct, although with some important limitations.