Part of the updated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) regulations were released late last week by the U.S. Department of Education. The proposed changes were published almost exactly a year ago, and it’s taken almost that long for the department to sift through the thousands of public comments to finalize them.
Since the changes are very recent and span over 1,500 pages, their exact impact can’t yet be known at this time. But generally, legal experts have said the new regulations update the definition of sex in this federal law, consistent with other, recent legal decisions across the country. It also changes some sexual misconduct investigation processes, used mostly on high school and college campuses.
Title IX regulations only directly apply to private K-12 schools that receive federal financial assistance (FFA), but these changes reflect larger societal shifts that impact all of our schools.
Most commonly, this affects schools that participate in the National Lunch Program, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently established that the lunch program qualifies as FFA, despite the decades-long understanding of the program not being FFA.
Though there’s a religious exemption in Title IX, organizations are still required to meet the program’s requirements up to the point that the program would violate their religious mission and values. What exactly this looks like for schools is yet to be seen.
The new rules are effective Aug. 1, and a second set of updates specifically addressing athletics is still being drafted. Experts from the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) note that this second set could impact the first. Lawsuits are expected.
WCRIS, along with the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) and other legal scholars, will continue to investigate the impact of these new rules on private K-12 schools that receive FFA.
Please contact WCRIS or your jurisdiction’s legal counsel with questions.
In the meantime, go here for steps for conducting a mission audit to help your school navigate changing program regulations and societal expectations. Summer break is an ideal time to engage in this best practice.
