Education Department unveils timeline for Title IX, loan forgiveness rules

Higher Ed Dive

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

December 7, 2023

The U.S. Department of Education indicated in its latest regulatory agenda that it will release two long-awaited Title IX rules in March, likely sparking frustration among campus sexual assault prevention and LGBTQ+ advocates after repeated delays.

Education Department officials have twice postponed the two Title IX rules, first aiming to have them out in May 2023, then October.

One rule details how federally funded colleges and K-12 schools would need to investigate and potentially punish sexual violence, while the other would prevent blanket bans on transgender students playing on athletic teams aligned with their identities. The athletics-centered rule would, in some cases, permit institutions to exclude transgender players for reasons like safety or fairness.

After the fall deadline came and went, an Education Department spokesperson said it would “complete this rulemaking process as soon as is practicable,” noting the agency was still parsing the hundreds of thousands of public comments it received. The Education Department must respond to all public feedback before publishing the rules.

These delays did not surprise policy pundits. The current Title IX regulation on sexual abuse reporting, spearheaded by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, took nearly two years to come into effect after she introduced the draft version in November 2018.

The Biden administration released its proposal about 18 months ago in June 2022.

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