On March 13, 2025, twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration to stop its plans to cut the U.S. Department of Education’s workforce by roughly half. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the...more
3/17/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Agencies ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
Layoffs ,
Pending Litigation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Separation of Powers ,
Trump Administration
On January 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL) announcing that it would enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 under the provisions...more
On December 3, 2024, in Terrell v. Alabama State University, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title IX does not provide an implied private right of action for sex discrimination in employment, deepening a split...more
12/27/2024
/ Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Private Right of Action ,
School Districts ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Split of Authority ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title IX Coordinator ,
Universities
On July 2 and July 11, 2024, two more federal courts issued preliminary injunctions preventing enforcement of the U.S. Department of Education’s new Title IX regulations, scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2024....more
7/22/2024
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On June 17, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted a preliminary injunction staying enforcement of the U.S. Department of Education’s new Title IX regulations....more
6/18/2024
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
First Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Statutory Authority ,
Stays ,
Title IX
As previously discussed in our four-part series, on April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education released final Title IX regulations that apply to complaints of sex discrimination occurring on or after the effective date...more
5/9/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hostile Environment ,
Injunctive Relief ,
OCR ,
Same-Sex Harassment ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX
This is part four of a series examining the most topical changes applicable to higher education contained in the new Title IX regulations released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 19, 2024. Changes applicable only...more
5/8/2024
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Family Status Discrimination ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Marital Status ,
Marital Status Discrimination ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Student Athletes ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
This is part three of a series examining the most topical changes contained in the new Title IX regulations applicable to higher education, which were released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 19, 2024. This...more
Part two of our series of articles examining key changes applicable to higher education institutions and contained in new Title IX regulations released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 19, 2024, addresses...more
This is part one of a series examining the most topical changes contained in the new Title IX regulations applicable to higher education released by the U.S. Department of Education on April 19, 2024. Changes applicable only...more
4/26/2024
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employees ,
Filing Grievances ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Grievance Process ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title IX Coordinator ,
Universities
The final regulations amend § 34 C.F.R. 106.1, et seq. According to a statement from the Department announcing the final rule, “The unofficial version of the final regulations is available here. In addition, the Department...more
4/22/2024
/ Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hostile Environment ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On April 17, 2024, the Biden administration published a proposed rule that would amend current regulations to allow for certain student loan debts to be waived, potentially providing relief to millions of student loan...more
On April 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced plans to begin a comprehensive review of its regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, in response to...more
On March 8, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the “Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity,” making clear his...more
3/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
NPRM ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Universities
The enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has raised a number of potential issues for institutions of higher education. Due to this significant impact, institutions need to study the Tax Act and plan appropriately....more
On Friday, September 22, 2017, when the Trump administration announced that it was rescinding Obama-era Title IX sexual assault guidance and issuing a new question and answer document while undertaking a formal review, most...more
9/25/2017
/ Comment Period ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Investigations ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Title IX ,
VAWA
In the past 10 years, there have been an increasing number of lawsuits asserting Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) fiduciary claims. These have been accompanied by an increased focus by the Department of...more