(Written by Kimberly Winter and Cindy Cieslak)

On September 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education formally rescinded the Biden Administration's Title IX regulation, thus officially reinstating the Trump Administration's 2020 Rule in the Code of Federal Regulations. In doing so, the Trump Administration formally removed gender identity and sexual orientation from the definitions of discrimination on the basis of sex under Title IX regulations.

Title IX, 20 U.S.C. §1681, was enacted in 1972 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The U.S. Department of Education is authorized to enact regulations that help implement Title IX.

In 2024, the Biden Administration enacted its Rule implementing Title IX. In doing so, it defined discrimination on the basis of sex as including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Several states challenged this Rule and received preliminary injunctions barring its enforcement by the Department of Education in 26 states and various other individual schools and school districts. In two of these cases, the District Courts vacated the 2024 Rule through final judgment.

Soon after President Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, his administration announced that it would no longer be enforcing President Biden's 2024 Title IX regulations.  In May 2026, the last appeal challenging enforcement of the 2024 Rule was dismissed, rendering the District Courts' prior vacaturs final. On September 28, 2026, the Trump Administration formally removed amendments made by the Biden Administration's 2024 Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect this nullification. In practice, the Department of Education had already been applying the 2020 Rule.

The 2020 Rule governs the procedural steps for an educational institution's response to claims of sexual harassment. Section 160.30 defined sexual harassment as one or more of: quid pro quo unwanted sexual conduct; unwelcome conduct that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that a reasonable person would find that it effectively denies a person equal access to an educational program or activity; or “sexual assault” as defined by 20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)(v), “dating violence” as defined by 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(10), or “stalking” as defined in 34 U.S.C. 12291a(30). To impart liability to educational institutions, the regulation requires that a school have actual knowledge of this harassment and be deliberately indifferent to it, i.e., respond to sexual harassment is manner which is clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances. The regulation requires educational institutions to respond promptly to complaints about sexual harassment while also conducting investigations and disciplinary procedures that preserve the alleged perpetrator's constitutional rights. This Rule is implemented through federal regulations, 34 CFR part 106.

The 2026 Rule also makes four changes to the 2020 Rule. First, it does not reinstate 34 C.F.R. 106.45(b)(6)(i) (2021) that was vacated by Victim Rts. L. Ctr. v. Cardona, 552 F. Supp. 3d 104, 132-34 (D. Mass. 2021) (vacating the prohibition on considering statements not subject to cross-examination). Second, it does not reinstate Appendix A to 34 CFR part 106 (2021) since that was previously rescinded by an earlier Department of Education Rule. 91 FR 46285-94 (July 23, 2026). Third, the Department is not reinstating 34 CFR 106.41(d) (2021), which provided educational institutions with an adjustment period to come into compliance with the remainder of 34 CFR 106.41, which was initially enacted in 1980. Finally, it is not reinstating 34 CFR 106.3(c)-(d) (2021); similarly to 34 CFR 106.41(d), it provided statutory adjustment periods that expired approximately 40 years ago. 

Although the 2020 Rule – and now current 2026 Rule – does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its definition of discrimination on the basis of sex, related Connecticut state laws and regulation which govern workplace discrimination and harassment, as well as equal treatment in public accommodations and school settings, protect gender identity and sexual orientation.

If you are an educational institution in need of navigating or applying Title IX, Title VI, Title VII, and/or Connecticut state human rights and antidiscrimination laws or for more information about this legal update, please contact Cindy M. Cieslak or the attorney at Rose Kallor, LLP with whom you already work.