On January 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (“Court”) vacated the 2024 Title IX Final Rule (“Final Rule”) nationwide in State of Tennessee v. Cardona. The U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) issued the Final Rule on April 29, 2024, but the Court later issued a preliminary injunction and stay on June 17, 2024, preventing the Final Rule from going into effect in certain states. In its January 9 Order, the Court vacated the Final Rule on the grounds that ED exceeded its authority in the Final Rule by expanding the scope of sex discrimination under Title IX to include “gender identity” and that the Final Rule violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and is arbitrary and capricious. See Tennessee v. Cardona, No. 2:24-072-DCR, 2025 WL 63795, at *1 (E.D. Ky. Jan. 9, 2025). As a result, all schools and other Title IX-covered institutions across the county must return to compliance with the 2020 Title IX regulations.
Prior to the vacatur decision, approximately 26 states and 670 institutions were enjoined from implementing the Final Rule, which means those institutions may continue to follow their current Title IX policies and procedures to the extent they comply with the 2020 regulations. However, institutions that were not previously enjoined and, in turn, amended their Title IX policies and procedures as of August 2024 to comply with the Final Rule must now revert them back to 2020 status.
For cases mid-adjudication that arose during the applicability of the Final Rule (August 1, 2024 – vacatur), the January 9 Order presents the challenging decision of whether to adjudicate the matters under existing Title IX policies and procedures to prevent disruption and delay or to temporarily stay such cases pending reimplementation of Title IX policies and procedures that comply with the 2020 regulations. As neither pathway is without risk and each poses special considerations, we recommend consulting your legal counsel to discuss the options.
While ED can appeal this ruling, it is anticipated that the Trump administration will promptly withdraw any such appeal and allow the Final Rule to be dispensed with altogether, securing restoration of the 2020 regulations. Spilman will continue to monitor and keep you apprised of Title IX developments.
