Trump’s Department of Education ‘formally rescinds’ Title IX protections for LGBTQ students
(Linda McMahon and Donald Trump)
The U.S. Department of Education on Sept. 28 formally rescinded the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX regulations and reinstated the Title IX rules adopted during Donald Trump’s first presidency, ending the federal regulatory protections that had explicitly interpreted sex discrimination to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The reinstated regulations take effect with publication in the Sept. 29 Federal Register.
The Education Department defended the decision as a restoration of what Secretary Linda McMahon called the “commonsense language” of Title IX. The department argues that Title IX’s protections against sex discrimination should be based on biological sex and says the restored regulations provide clearer rules for schools while protecting women’s athletic opportunities, privacy and safety.
For LGBTQ students, however, the change represents a significant rollback of protections that the Biden administration had sought to establish. The 2024 regulations explicitly addressed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, although their implementation was blocked in numerous states and the rule was ultimately vacated by a federal court in January 2025.
Critics of the Trump administration’s action argue that the rollback goes beyond the debate over transgender participation in sports and could reduce protections for LGBTQ students facing discrimination or harassment.
The National Women’s Law Center said the restored 2020 rule “significantly weakens protections against sexual harassment in education” and argued that the department should be concentrating on protecting student survivors of sexual violence as well as LGBTQ students. NWLC senior director of education justice Shiwali Patel said the administration was disregarding the needs of survivors while targeting transgender students.
Education Week noted that the practical situation for many schools and students had already changed because courts had blocked the Biden-era regulations and the Trump administration returned to enforcing the 2020 rules in January 2025. Monday’s action nevertheless formally removes the Biden regulations from the federal regulatory code and makes the Trump-era framework the published standard.
The dispute reflects a broader national battle over what “sex” means under Title IX and how federal civil-rights protections should apply to transgender students. The Trump administration says its approach restores Title IX to its original purpose; opponents contend that it removes important protections for LGBTQ students and potentially leaves vulnerable students with fewer avenues for federal protection when discrimination or harassment occurs.
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(Sources: US Department of Education, Education Week, The Hill, UPI News)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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