Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects students from discrimination on the basis of sex. Below is the official text of Title IX:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
Since the 1970s, courts have interpreted this protection against sex discrimination as a protection against sexual harassment or assault. The argument goes that a culture of harassment and a tendency for administrators to disbelieve those who come forward about their experiences create a hostile environment for many women, LGBTQ folks, and other survivors of sexual assault.
In 2020, the Trump administration rolled back a number of policy guidelines from the Obama era that encouraged schools to take Title IX accusations seriously. In their place, the Department of Education implemented a new set of rules, changing many of the requirements for how schools handle sexual assault accusations.
Here are some of the most important rule changes implemented in 2020:
Many have expected the Biden administration to alter some of these rule changes, but new rules have not been forthcoming.