Biden administration to announce expanded Title IX protections while reversing Trump-era guidance
CNN
The Biden administration on Friday will announce changes to Title IX, expanding protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students while overhauling controversial Trump-era guidance around how schools handled sexual assault cases.
The Biden administration on Friday will announce changes to Title IX, expanding protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students while overhauling controversial Trump-era guidance around how schools should handle sexual assault cases. “Our nation’s educational institutions should be places where we not only accept differences, but celebrate them – places that root out hate and promote inclusion, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because our systems and institutions are richer for it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on a call Thursday previewing the changes to Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at federally funded schools. The final rule – which is slated to take effect on August 1 – requires schools to protect students from all sex discrimination, including sexual violence and sex-based harassment, expanding that definition to include discrimination based on pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions like childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from pregnancy. The rule also prohibits discrimination “based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in federally funded education programs,” according to a fact sheet shared with CNN Thursday, formalizing a previously proposed rule from the administration that would strengthen Title IX protections for transgender students. It also aims to prevent retaliation against students or employees who’ve reported sex discrimination. The new Title IX regulations will also reverse guidance under the Trump administration that narrowly defined sexual harassment and investigation requirements critics said could discourage victims from reporting sexual assault and harassment on college campuses.
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