On July 12, 2022, the Department of Education proposed to amend the Nondiscrimination since Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance regulations. The amendment would ban all forms of sex discrimination, including expanding the definition of sex discrimination to encompass discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity. The proposal will no longer require live hearings for Title IX investigations and reverts the definition of sexual harassment back to “unwelcome sex-based conduct that creates a hostile environment by denying or limiting” a person’s ability to participate in a school’s education program or activity. The current rule prohibits unwelcome sex-based misconduct only if it is “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.”
For more, read the public comment letter and fact sheet, which highlights Advocacy’s concerns and recommendations.