The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is reconsidering its prior decisions that had established a legal right for transgender students to access bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The reconsideration is based on...more
Headlines this week largely focused on the Department of Education, and rightfully so. As announced on Tuesday, President Trump’s administration terminated over 1,300 Department of Education employees this week – nearly 50%...more
3/18/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
OCR ,
Title IX ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
We reported last week that the pace of executive orders coming from the new presidential administration had begun to slow. While, overall, the rate does still appear to be slowing, this week has been a notable one....more
3/11/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Harassment ,
NLRB ,
OCR ,
Title IX ,
Title VI ,
Trump Administration
As we shared in a previous alert, in early February, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which restricts transgender women and girls from participating in women’s athletic...more
On January 20, 2025, one of President Trump’s first actions as the president of the United States was signing an Executive Order proclaiming that the U.S. government only recognizes two sexes: male and female. The order goes...more
1/22/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX
The start of a new year may prompt questions regarding hot button areas of the law in flux. We have received questions about several such issues and what they mean for educators. Title IX, immigration enforcement, and school...more
1/17/2025
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
FERPA ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Private Schools ,
Public Schools ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Legislatures ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On Thursday, January 9, 2025, Judge John C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an opinion and order vacating the Final Rule that implemented the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The decision by Judge Reeves has the...more
Earlier this morning, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released its long-awaited final Title IX regulations on sexual harassment. These new regulations, which replace the 2020 rules, will take effect on...more
We wanted to share a quick update that the final Title IX rules are now set to be released sometime in March 2024. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) just updated the final release dates on the...more
On April 6, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released its much-anticipated proposed Title IX rule on the eligibility of students for participation in athletic programs based on their gender identity....more
4/17/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Education ,
Education Reform ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Funding ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
OCR ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Schools ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sports ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
Happy New Year from the Title IX team at Franczek! Over the next several posts, we will be providing Title IX updates from the end of 2022 that you might have missed, as well as noteworthy items to keep an eye on in 2023. ...more
The Biden Administration has recently taken steps through agency guidance, rulemaking and decision-making to highlight protections for students and employees with pregnancy-related conditions, including abortion, under the...more
10/25/2022
/ Abortion ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Educational Institutions ,
Healthcare ,
New Guidance ,
OCR ,
Pregnancy ,
Reproductive Discrimination ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Title IX
Recent court and OCR decisions regarding transgender students and employees reflect widely varying responses to the Biden administration’s efforts to expand protections for LGBTQ+ individuals under federal law, including...more
9/22/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employees ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
OCR ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
You may have noticed while skimming through the new Title IX proposed regulations that there are now seemingly two grievance procedures to address Title IX complaints instead of one. You’ll recall that the current 2020...more
7/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Department of Education ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX
Yesterday, the Biden administration released its highly anticipated proposed Title IX regulations on the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX. The Department also released a fact sheet on the draft rule as well as the...more
6/24/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
This week, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation signed into law on June 23 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. Consisting of a mere 37 words—“No person in the United States shall,...more
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that school districts may only be liable for employee sexual misconduct when a school official has actual notice of the conduct. In C.S. v. Madison Metropolitan School District, the...more
5/27/2022
/ Child Abuse ,
Child Protection Laws ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Grooming Policies ,
Illinois ,
Minor Children ,
School Districts ,
Sexual Abuse ,
Sexual Conduct ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Title IX ,
Vulnerable Victims
We recently launched a multi-part series where we are providing a refresher on the key players on the Title IX team under the current 2020 regulations. While we wait for the Biden administration to release their proposed...more
3/16/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Colleges ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
Live hearings—the hallmark procedure and one of the most substantial changes under the 2020 Title IX regulations for higher education institutions—may be a thing of the past. This a possible result of the end of the...more
Litigants challenging the opening of women’s restrooms and locker rooms in schools to transgender females have roundly been defeated. While the Supreme Court could always change the trend, cases like Whitcare v. Kenosha...more
2/20/2020
/ Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Restroom Legislation ,
Right to Privacy ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
With the number of students who identify as gender non-conforming on the rise, many educators have questions regarding the supports and services that may be available to such students. This year at IAASE, Jennifer Smith and...more
10/25/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Gender Identity ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
LGBTQ ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
A flurry of recent news reports signals a marked change by the Trump administration of the Federal government’s approach toward the rights of transgender students in public education. What, if any, practical implications do...more
10/24/2018
/ Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
LGBTQ ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Protected Class ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
In an opinion issued last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of a transgender student who challenged his high school’s decision to limit his access to boys’ communal bathrooms. ...more
6/9/2017
/ Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
Restroom Legislation ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
The wait for a final resolution of the legal issues surrounding transgender students will be extended as the result of a decision yesterday by the United State Supreme Court in the landmark case, Gloucester County School Bd....more
3/8/2017
/ Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
Remand ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) jointly issued a statement rescinding the guidance on transgender students’ rights under Title IX issued to school districts nationwide in May. The prior...more
2/23/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Restroom Legislation ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration