Federal Court Vacates 2024 Title IX Regulations: What’s Next for Educational Institutions?

With less than two weeks left in President Biden’s term, a federal court has vacated the Biden administration’s overhaul of the regulations implementing Title IX (“Final Rule”).

On January 9, 2025, Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky entered an order declaring that the Final Rule exceeded the Department of Education’s authority, violated the Constitution, and was arbitrary and capricious. State of Tennessee v. Cardona, No. 2:24-cv-0072-DCR-CJS (Jan. 9, 2025).

What Prompted the Order?

The order was issued in response to a lawsuit filed in April by six states (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia), which primarily took issue with the Final Rule’s interpretation of Title IX’s definition of sex discrimination and provisions related to gender identity. The Final Rule went into effect on August 1, 2024, but the Department has been temporarily enjoined from enforcing it in approximately half of U.S. states due to the Tennessee case and similar cases brought throughout the country during the spring and summer. With this latest order, the Department is effectively barred from enforcing the Final Rule nationwide.

What Does the Ruling Mean?

The Tennessee court ordered vacatur of the Final Rule, which prevents the Final Rule’s application to any entity that would otherwise be subject to its operation and results in a “return to the status quo”—namely, the 2020 Title IX Regulations that were issued under the Trump administration.

For educational institutions that were subject to one of the temporary injunctions issued over the summer, this ruling has little effect; those institutions should continue to apply the 2020 Regulations consistent with their existing policies and procedures.

For institutions not subject to an injunction that moved forward with implementing the Final Rule, the ruling may necessitate policy and procedure revisions to realign institutional policy and practice with the 2020 Regulations.

What Happens Next?

Many experts anticipate that the Department will quickly appeal the Tennessee ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. While it is unlikely that the Trump administration would continue to challenge the court’s ruling after transitioning into office, other parties could seek to intervene to defend the Final Rule on appeal.

Given the potential for appeal, and in the absence of further guidance from the Department, institutions may consider holding off on making sweeping policy and procedure revisions in the near term. HMBR is continuing to monitor the Title IX litigation and will provide further updates as developments arise.

If you have questions about the Tennessee ruling or its implications for your educational institution, please contact Debbie Osgood, Emily Bothfeld or Linh Nguyen.