U.S. Department of Education to Enforce 2020 Title IX Regulations, Effective Immediately

02.05.2025

Updated 02.05.2025

Another update is warranted regarding the implementation of Title IX under the Trump Administration. On February 4, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education (“OCR”) issued another Dear Colleague letter to clarify that OCR will immediately enforce the 2020 Title IX Regulations pursuant to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). This February 4, 2025 letter superseded the January 31, 2025 Dear Colleague letter. While the February 4, 2025 Dear Colleague letter makes no substantive changes to OCR’s enforcement of the 2020 Title IX Regulations, this Alert updates our previous Alert[1] regarding the revised Dear Colleague letter.

The February 4, 2025 Dear Colleague letter reiterated OCR’s position that recipients of federal funding under Title IX shall immediately revert to the definitions, procedures, and training requirements of the 2020 Title IX Regulations, if they have not done so already. OCR added a clarification that, while the Department of Justice is considering whether to appeal the decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in Tennessee v. Cardona (Civil Action No. 2:24-072-DCR (January 9, 2025) (“Cardona”) to vacate the 2024 Title IX Regulations nationwide, OCR will immediately enforce the 2020 Title IX Regulations.

Moreover, the February 4, 2025 Dear Colleague letter also removed a statement expressing agreement with the Eastern District of Kentucky’s interpretation of the meaning of Title IX, and a reference to the decision repudiating the 2024 Title IX regulations expanded meaning of “on the basis of sex” to include gender identity. The February 4, 2025 Dear Colleague letter also removed the statement that “the President’s interpretation of the law governs because he alone controls and supervises subordinate officers who exercise discretionary executive power on his behalf.” However, OCR reiterated that it will enforce Title IX consistent with Executive Order 14168 (“Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”). Executive Order 14168 defines “sex” as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female … and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”

The February 4, 2025 Dear Colleague letter again emphasized that all open Title IX investigations must be “reevaluated to ensure consistency with the requirements of the 2020 Title IX Rule.” The prior Dear Colleague letter required open investigations to be immediately “reoriented to comport fully” with the 2020 Title IX Regulations rather than “reevaluated to ensure consistency” with the 2020 Title IX Regulations.

AALRR will continue to provide updates regarding the enforcement of Title IX. Please reach out to AALRR if your educational institution needs training on the 2020 Title IX Regulations; if your educational institution has questions about the return to 2020 Title IX Regulations; or if you have questions about how to process ongoing Title IX matters.

[1] Read our previous Alert from January 31, 2025 below.

Published 01.31.2025

The 2020 Title IX Regulations are back in play for schools and colleges. On January 31, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education (“OCR”) issued a Dear Colleague letter clarifying that, in light of the decision in Tennessee v. Cardona (Civil Action No. 2:24-072-DCR (January 9, 2025)) and Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” OCR will enforce the 2020 Title IX Regulations regarding Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”), effective immediately. OCR further clarified that “existing Title IX investigations initiated under the 2024 Title IX Rule should be immediately reoriented to comport fully with the requirements of the 2020 Title IX Rule.”

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (“Court”) issued a decision in Tennessee v. Cardona on January 9, 2025, vacating the 2024 Title IX Regulations, which affected school districts, community colleges, and universities nationwide that receive federal funding. By determining that vacatur was the appropriate remedy, the Court decided that the 2024 Title IX Regulations, in their entirety, were invalid and must be set aside.[1]

Additionally, on January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168, to “enforce all sex-protective laws to promote [the] reality” that “two sexes, male and female … are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” Executive Order 14168 defines “sex” as “an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female … and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”

Accordingly, recipients of federal funding under Title IX must immediately revert to the definitions, procedures, and training requirements of the 2020 Title IX Regulations, if they have not done so already. Notably, for those educational institutions that changed their Title IX procedures in response to the 2024 Title IX Regulations, the return to the 2020 Title IX Regulations requires a return to the split investigator and decision-maker model. For colleges and universities, the change also maintains the need for live hearings, consistent with John Doe v. Kegan Allee (2019) 30 Cal. App. 5th 1036. In the January 31, 2025 Dear Colleague letter, OCR clarified that discrimination “on the basis of sex” under the 2020 Title IX Regulations does not include “discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, and/or sexual orientation.”

We note that all educational institutions in California must continue to comply with state law. The California Education Code and other state statutes, such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and their regulations expressly prohibit discrimination not only on the basis of “sex,” but also on the basis of gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Educational institutions must also continue to comply with state and federal law regarding pregnancy and lactation accommodations for students and employees.

Colleges and universities are also reminded that several California Education Code sections still govern how postsecondary entities must address sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking as set forth in Education Code Sections 63876, 66262.5, and 66281.8.

Please reach out to AALRR if your educational institution needs training on the 2020 Title IX Regulations; if your educational institution has questions about the return to 2020 Title IX Regulations or questions on how to process ongoing Title IX matters.

[1] AALRR’s Alerts on the decision in Tennessee v. Cardona can be found here: https://www.aalrr.com/newsroom-alerts-4099 (K-12) and https://www.aalrr.com/newsroom-alerts-4101 (Higher Education)