When the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion several weeks ago upholding a public school district’s policy allowing transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity, it was just the latest...more
With the number of students who identify as gender non-conforming on the rise, many educators have questions regarding the supports and services that may be available to such students. This year at IAASE, Jennifer Smith and...more
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has suggested that it is considering significant changes to or rescission of the April 4, 2011, Dear Colleague Letter on schools’ obligations to respond to sexual misconduct...more
Higher education institutions may soon be asked to reconsider how they comply with Title IX obligations when a student or employee files a sexual assault complaint. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently indicated it...more
Following revocation of Obama Administration transgender guidance, the U.S. Supreme Court has vacated the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s determination that a transgender student had shown a likelihood of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 6, 2017, the Supreme Court remanded a highly anticipated transgender rights case back to the Court of Appeals after the Trump Administration withdrew Obama era guidance regarding the rights of...more
The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education have withdrawn existing guidance on transgender students and issued a new Dear Colleague Letter calling into question whether Title IX requires that schools permit students to use...more
In a not particularly surprising development, on March 6, 2017, the United States Supreme Court vacated the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s judgment in the controversial case of Gloucester County...more
The wait for a final resolution of the legal issues surrounding transgender students will be extended as the result of a decision yesterday by the United State Supreme Court in the landmark case, Gloucester County School Bd....more
Today the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not entertain arguments in GG v. Gloucester County School Board, a case that would have been the Court’s first significant opportunity to weigh in on gender identity...more
Rescission of Previous Administration’s Guidance Relating to Transgender Students - On February 22, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education released a Dear Colleague Letter rescinding the...more
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) withdrew their May 13, 2016 “Dear Colleague” letter that provided guidance on steps to protect transgender students under Title IX of the...more
The evolving field of enforcement of Title IX matters took another turn last week. On February 22, 2017, the Department of Education and Department of Justice, under the direction of the new Administration, together...more
On February 22, the U.S. Department of Education issued its first Dear Colleague Letter guidance of the new administration, rescinding the transgender rights guidance that the Obama administration issued last summer. The...more
On February 22, 2017, President Donald Trump’s administration issued a two-page "Dear Colleague" letter that formally rescinded the Obama administration’s interpretation of transgender student rights as an extension of Title...more
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance issued by the Department of Education on January 7, 2015 and...more
In May 2016, the Obama Administration’s U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter directing schools to recognize and treat...more
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice ("Departments") withdrew statements of policy and guidance on transgender students and their use of school restrooms and locker rooms that were a...more
On February 22, 2017, President Trump’s administration decided to rescind, pending further review, the Obama administration’s federal guidance that requires transgender students receive access to the restrooms and locker...more
In the latest chapter in the saga of evolving legal rights and protections for transgender students, on Feb. 22, the Departments of Justice and Education issued a joint “Dear Colleague Letter” that rescinded their prior...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education jointly issued a “Dear Colleague” letter yesterday withdrawing and rescinding the Obama Administration’s prior guidance letters which instructed schools that...more
On February 22, 2017, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice published a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) rescinding previous guidance that had sought to protect transgender students' rights. This rolling back of guidance...more
On February 22, 2017, one day before briefs were submitted to the Supreme Court in a case involving a transgender student in Pennsylvania, the Trump Administration, through the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department...more
On February 22, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (“ED” and “DOJ,” respectively, and collectively, the “Departments”) issued a two-page Dear Colleague Letter to “withdraw and rescind” policy and guidance reflected...more
Schools No Longer Face Federal Requirement To Permit Transgender Students To Access Restrooms Corresponding With Their Gender Identities - Late yesterday, the Trump administration revoked Obama-era federal guidelines...more