New Title IX rules will protect Ohio’s LGBTQ+ students from discrimination for the first time

The Biden-Harris Administration has finalized a new set of rules under Title IV – the landmark 1972 civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.

For the first time in history, the new rules explicitly protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination in schools on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The rules also reverse several Trump-era policies around sexual assault and harassment on school campuses, bolstering resources and other protections for students who report experiencing sexual assault or harrasment in schools across the country.

Initially, the Biden-Harris Administration also planned to include a provision that prohibits individual schools and school districts from enforcing outright bans on transgender athletes.

However, the administration dropped that portion of the policyin what many suspect is a political maneuver ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

President Biden discussed Title IX at length throughout his 2020 presidential campaign, saying that the changes enacted by former president Donald Trump and former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos “fundamentally disregard[ed] student’s civil rights.”

Biden first proposed revisions to Title IX in 2020, just months after winning the presidential election. However, the rules’ finalization process was stalled by nearly 250,000 public comment submissions.

In his initial proposal, Biden said the the Trump-Pence administration’s changed to Title IX “weakened protections for survivors of sexual assault and diminished the promise of an education free from discrimination.”

Under Trump-era Title IX rules, students who reported sexual assaults or harassment on college campuses were required to attend live hearings, subjecting them to public cross-examination that experts say can be retraumatizing for people who have experienced sexual assault.

Additionally, Trump’s rules narrowed the which behaviors constitute sexual harassment, shrinking the number of sexual misconduct reports schools and universities are legally required to address.

For example, institutions of higher education were no longer mandated to investigate incidents that took place off-campus or on study abroad trips.

Biden’s rules reverse those stipulations, broadening the reports of sexual misconduct schools are legally required to address and outlining exactly how complaints and reports of sexual misconduct should be processed.

Under the new rules, LGBTQ+ students who report experiencing discrimination, harassment or assault in schools based on their gender identity or sexual orientation have explicit legal recourse for the first time in history – entitling students to a response from their schools and allowing them to seek recourse via federal law should their schools fail to enforce the non-discrimination provision.

Across Ohio, LGBTQ+ rights organizations have welcomed the changes.

In a statement released Friday, Dara Adkison of TransOhio – the state’s only transgender-led organization, advocating for transgender rights, education, support, resources and advocacy – called the rules “a significant stride towards clarifying and strengthening legal protections for trans, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-nonconforming students.”

In a statement released Friday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said he is proud to enforce the new rules via the Office of Civil Rights.

“The Supreme Court has upheld the right for LGBTQ+ people to live and work without fear of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination – and our LGBTQ+ students have the same rights and deserve the same protections,” Cordona said. “Today, the Department makes clear that all students — including LGBTQ+ students — deserve the opportunity to learn and thrive in schools that are free from discrimination.”

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest civil rights organization in the United States, also issued a statement on the finalized rules.

“Today’s rule will be life-changing for so many LGBTQ+ youth and help ensure LGBTQ+ students can receive the same educational experience as their peers: going to dances, safely using the restroom, and writing stories that tell the truth about their own lives,” said HRC President Kelley Robinson:

“This updated rule is a reminder of what Title IX has been designed to accomplish for more than fifty years: ensure students are safe from abuse, harassment, and discrimination while they pursue their education.”