After being in effect for only five months, President Joe Biden’s Title IX policies have been banned nationwide. The news, announced by a federal court in Kentucky this Thursday, will dramatically impact how colleges across the country implement federal Title IX rule.
Biden’s 1,500-page document contained significant revisions of Trump-era policies. It expanded LGBTQ+ rights, including for transgender students, and granted schools wider jurisdiction in sexual assault claims. It was struck down by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, who, according to the Associated Press, stated that Biden’s policy was “fatally” tainted by legal shortcomings.
The news came while 26 states had yet to implement the regulations as a result of numerous legal challenges against it. Many prominent conservative voices, including president-elect Donald Trump, saw the new laws as an infringement on first amendment rights and an imposition of unfair rules pertaining to women’s sports — namely that transgender woman would be allowed to participate.
Documents announcing the federal court’s decision state that “discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female,” a drastic change from Biden’s protection of gender identity as an expression of self.
It is almost certain that President Trump will not fight against the court reversals when he returns to office, marking the end of Biden’s short-lived Title IX policy.
In The Bi-Co and Nationwide
Bryn Mawr and Haverford colleges both announced updates this fall to their Title IX procedures in accordance with federal law, which came amidst an already changing department. Former Title IX coordinator Kim Taylor announced her resignation last October, and the previously bi-co Title IX office was split into two shortly after.
Bryn Mawr has yet to make any public announcements regarding the court reversal, while Haverford has informed the Bi-Co News that they were conferring with legal counsel concerning next steps. However, both colleges will almost certainly need to change their separate Title IX pages to match the previous Trump-era regulations. This will mean a return to live cross-examinations and a smaller scope of jurisdiction, offering little to no protection for students studying abroad or attending events off-campus.
In addition, students alleging misconduct will have to once again prove that they faced “severe and pervasive” harassment or assault, preventing either school from being able to take action unless a student has experienced something extreme enough to preventing them equal access to education.
But Trump, who takes office next week, has been open about wanting to restrict Title IX legislation even further, including a nationwide ban on any transgender women from being allowed to participate in women’s sports.
And in Project 2025, a far-right roadmap written by Trump’s advisors that Trump claims he had no part in creating, rights for women and gender minorities are under excessive threat. Any acknowledgement of transgender students would disappear, as gender would be exclusively defined by the “sex assigned at birth.”
While it is unclear what exactly the next steps are for either Bryn Mawr or Haverford, it is certain that nationwide, Title IX policies are about to undergo drastic change.
