With the August 1, 2024, effective date of the Department of Education’s April Title IX regulations (Final Rule) just weeks away, court action in pending lawsuits challenging the Final Rule across the country continues. The...more
7/22/2024
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
Title IX ,
Universities
On July 2, Judge John Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas handed down yet another preliminary injunction blocking the Title IX regulations issued in April, following on the heels of similar orders...more
7/10/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Education ,
Government Agencies ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Authority ,
Title IX
On June 17, Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a preliminary injunction staying the effective date, and enjoining enforcement, of the new Title IX regulations in the states of Indiana,...more
6/24/2024
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
New Regulations ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
State and Local Government ,
Title IX
On June 13, a judge in the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of the new Title IX regulations in full in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho. The...more
In a much-anticipated decision, the Supreme Court last week ended the use of race as a factor in college admissions, effectively overturning its precedent in Grutter v. Bollinger. In a vote of 6-3, the Court held that the...more
7/5/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Harvard University ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI
Athletics on campus are currently in full swing. Football continues toward its various bowls and championships, while men’s and women’s basketball competitions have just begun, not to mention the many other fall and winter...more
On October 31, the Supreme Court heard the much-anticipated oral arguments in the cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC),...more
11/3/2022
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Protection ,
Fisher v University of Texas ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Oral Argument ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Universities
On July 15, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee entered a preliminary injunction barring the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Education (ED) from enforcing...more
7/26/2022
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Sexual Orientation ,
State and Local Government ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VII
On January 24, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in two closely-watched cases raising the issue of the constitutionality of the use of race in college admissions. The Court has consolidated the cases brought by Students...more
On January 4, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued guidance for federal agencies to implement National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM 33). NSPM 33 was issued in January 2021 at the...more
On December 8, the Solicitor General filed a brief stating the views of the United States on the pending petition for certiorari in the case challenging the admissions program of Harvard University. The petition, filed by...more
12/15/2021
/ Admissions ,
Certiorari ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Harvard University ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students ,
Title VI ,
Universities
On December 6, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Hughes v. Northwestern University. The question at issue is whether allegations that a defined-contribution retirement plan paid fees that substantially...more
On July 26, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas dismissed the latest case filed by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) against the University of Texas at Austin, challenging the university’s use of race...more
7/28/2021
/ College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Race Discrimination ,
Res Judicata ,
State and Local Government ,
Student Enrollment ,
Students ,
Summary Judgment ,
Texas ,
Universities
On June 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision upholding the bribery convictions of two defendants in the college basketball scandal that garnered a significant amount of media attention in...more
On May 11, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law House Bill 1351 (HB 1351), which requires public and private four-year colleges in Tennessee that are not under the authority of the Tennessee Board of Regents...more
6/7/2021
/ Colleges ,
Compensation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Governor Lee ,
NCAA ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Student Athletes ,
Tennessee ,
Universities
On April 16, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded actions taken during the Trump administration regarding extramural research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) involving human...more
On March 31, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in NCAA v. Alston, the closely-watched case that will determine whether certain NCAA rules, limiting compensation provided by colleges and universities to student-athletes,...more
4/16/2021
/ Alston v NCAA ,
Amateurism Rules ,
Commerce Clause ,
Compensation ,
Injunctions ,
Name and Likeness ,
NCAA ,
Oral Argument ,
Pay-for-Performance ,
SCOTUS ,
Student Athletes
As part of the government’s broader efforts to combat foreign threats to U.S.-funded scientific research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) have announced...more
On April 6, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent a letter to stakeholders indicating how it intends to provide guidance on the implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title...more
On March 31, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the closely watched case of NCAA v. Alston, the so-called “pay for play” case. The Supreme Court’s ruling in this case could have important ramifications not only for...more
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) recently announced it was changing course on whether students should be considered employees and therefore can unionize. This change of course returns to previous Board...more
On March 8, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, holding that a claim for nominal damages saves a claim from dismissal on mootness grounds. For more background on the case, see the...more
3/9/2021
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Mootness ,
Nominal Damages ,
Oral Argument ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Student Speech ,
Universities
On February 3, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) took steps in two separate cases to execute on expected changes in policy promised by the Biden Administration in the areas of affirmative action and Title IX. It...more
2/8/2021
/ Admissions ,
Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Colleges ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Title IX ,
Universities ,
Yale
On January 12, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, which occurred in the context of religious speech on a college campus. The question at issue in the case is whether a...more
On November 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the use of race by Harvard College in its student admissions program against a challenge brought by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a group...more
11/17/2020
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity ,
Harvard University ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students ,
Universities