Public Hearing on Title IX Changes Scheduled for June 7-11

The June hearing could lead to revisions of Title IX’s sexual misconduct rules implemented by the Trump administration.

May 17, 2021 Robin Hattersley Jump to Comments

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has just opened registration for its upcoming virtual public hearing on Title IX, which will take place June 7-11.

OCR Acting Assistant Secretary Susanne B. Goldberg said the department is “especially interested in comments on the steps the Department of Education can take to:

“ensure that schools are providing students with educational environments free from discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence;
“ensure that schools have grievance procedures that provide for the fair, prompt, and equitable resolution of reports of sexual harassment and other sex discrimination, cognizant of the sensitive issues that are often involved; and
“address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in educational environments.”

The link to the unofficial hearing notice can be found here.

“During the hearing, OCR seeks input from students, parents, educators, school staff, administrators and other members of the public on what additional changes to the Title IX regulations and any related agency actions may be necessary to fulfill President Biden’s Executive Orders,” the Department said in a statement. “The Department looks forward to hearing from participants on steps that can be taken to ensure that students who experience sexual harassment, including sexual violence, receive appropriate supports; schools provide fair processes for resolving complaints of sexual harassment, including sexual violence; and students who have experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity have their legal rights fully met. The input from the hearing will also support the Department’s commitment to ensuring equal and nondiscriminatory access to education for all students, from pre-K-12 to postsecondary education, including in extracurricular activities and other educational settings.”

The announcement follows the Department’s April launch of its comprehensive Title IX review.

The review is the next step in President Joe Biden’s efforts to bring a “quick end” to Title IX regulations that were implemented under former President Donald Trump.

The current rules, which went into effect last August, have been heavily criticized by sexual assault victim advocates, claiming the regulations discourage victims from coming forward and bolster the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct.

The rules are also facing multiple challenges in the courts.

The process of changing the Title IX regulations could take years because they were instituted through the formal rulemaking process. Congress, however, could opt to rescind the rules.

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About the Author

Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief

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Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.