Biden-era Title IX protections rolled back in blow to LGBTQ+ students
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon (Getty Images)
The US Department of Education has formally rescinded Biden-era Title IX protections that explicitly treated discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as sex discrimination, restoring the Trump first-term rules.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the move was intended to align the published regulations with court decisions and reduce uncertainty for schools and families. “Thanks to today’s action, the published Title IX regulations faithfully reflect court orders and congressional intent, reducing confusion for parents, students, and educational institutions,” she said, as per The Washington Blade.
Advocates warned the rollback weakens protections for trans students and for students who experience sexual harassment or sexual assault. Cathy Renna, communications director at the National LGBTQ Task Force, said: “This has weakened protections for all students, especially trans students, women and girls, and those who experience sexual harassment or sexual assault,” in a statement, as per The Advocate.
The regulations now back in force were issued in 2020 under then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and include procedural requirements such as live hearings in some college cases.
The Biden administration’s 2024 rule did not establish an eligibility policy in sports, and the current action does not either.
How the rules got here
Title IX was enacted in 1972, barring sex discrimination in education programmes that receive federal funding.
The Biden administration issued a new rule in 2024 that said Title IX’s sex discrimination protections covered sexual orientation and gender identity, but a federal judge vacated that rule nationwide in January 2025.
The department said the change was expected to take effect Tuesday, 29 September.
What the rollback changes
McMahon said: “Today’s rulemaking clears the Biden Administration’s illegal rewrite of Title IX from the Code of Federal Regulations and restores the commonsense language promulgated in the first Trump Administration, which we have been enforcing since the first days of the Administration.”
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, criticised the move, saying: “Title IX is, quite simply, about protecting students and ensuring that they are safe from abuse, harassment, and discrimination while they pursue their education. But Donald Trump and his cronies aren’t interested in any of that.”
The announcement landed amid the administration’s wider Title IX enforcement posture on trans inclusion, including when it opened investigations into three Michigan school districts over allegations they allowed students to compete and use facilities based on gender identity.
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