In August 2025, the definition of what constitutes sexual assault under the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) expanded, and as a result impacted the way Title IX Coordinators must evaluate certain incidents for Title IX applicability.  NIBRS removed the category of “fondling,” and replaced it with a more broadly defined category of conduct now termed “criminal sexual contact.” What may have appeared to just be a technical adjustment for purposes of law enforcement reporting is in fact a significant practical change for schools’ Title IX compliance.

Continue Reading Redefining the Line of Title IX: Reminder About Change to Sexual Assault Definition

While the 2024 Title IX regulations, in their short lifespan, had specific provisions about the role of members of the IEP team in determining supportive measures and other aspects of the process, the reinstatement of the 2020 Title IX regulations requires schools to think twice about the overlapping obligations between Title IX and the laws protecting students with disabilities. For special education, these developments in Title IX intersect with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), creating compliance pressures and opportunities to improve policies and practices on impacts for students with disabilities.

Continue Reading Title IX’s Current Regulatory Landscape and Its Implications for Special Education

As we previously reported, the 2020 Title IX Regulations are currently in effect. Franczek P.C. offers everything your institution needs to reinstate the 2020 requirements.  

Posted Training: The 2020 Title IX regulations require institutions to train all members of their Title IX team (Title IX Coordinators, Investigators, Informal Resolution Facilitators, and Decision Makers). The materials utilized in these trainings must be made publicly available on the District’s website. We offer trainings in a variety of modalities to best suit your institution, with live-in-person, live-virtual, and asynchronous-virtual options. 

Toolkit: We offer a comprehensive toolkit that includes all required and recommended notices and forms, as well as guidance documents helpful to support your team in following the 2020 requirements.

K-12 Coordinator Refresher Training: This training is specifically tailored for Title IX Coordinators in need of a refresher on the 2020 requirements, along with tips and best practices. 

K-12 Investigator Refresher Training: This refresher training is for those serving as Title IX Investigators.

K-12 Decision Maker Refresher Training: This refresher training is for those serving as Title IX Decision Makers. The training will also address requirements for Appellate Decision Makers.

In addition to our training options, we also offer a Title IX Toolkit that includes user-friendly sample notifications, templates, checklists, and flowcharts to assist your team in complying with the 2020 Title IX Regulations. For more information on these tools or to schedule a customized training course for your Title IX team, please fill out this form.

We are nearly at the one-month mark with the 2024 Title IX Regulations in effect. Since the August 1 implementation date, school administrators have been busy getting trained, preparing for the school year ahead, and sorting through the different legal challenges to the new regulations. With most students now settling into their classrooms, we’d like to provide an update on all things Title IX.

Continue Reading One Month In – Title IX Update

Schools throughout the country are preparing to implement the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights’ (“OCR”) long-awaited final 2024 Title IX regulations. These new regulations, which replace the 2020 regulations, took effect today. In the wake of their release, legal challenges have now surfaced throughout the country, aiming to halt enforcement of the 2024 regulations. We have talked with several clients about these lawsuits’ impact on their individual schools, particularly regarding one court order referencing various schools nationwide. We provide general information about this order below relevant to Illinois schools, but we continue to recommend schools contact legal counsel for advice regarding the impact of these challenges on their particular schools.  

Continue Reading Legal Challenges to the 2024 Title IX Regulations – What’s Next for Illinois Schools?

As we previously reported, the new 2024 Title IX Regulations are now in effect as of August 1, 2024. To support compliance with the new 2024 Title IX regulations, Franczek P.C. has created a comprehensive Title IX Toolkit for K-12 Institutions. This Toolkit provides forms and guidance documents to help ensure K-12 Institutions comply with the new requirements during the Title IX grievance process. Specifically, the Toolkit includes template notices, forms, flowcharts, checklists for K-12 Institutions and Title IX Coordinators, and helpful resources for students and families. 

Continue Reading Franczek P.C. Releases New 2024 Title IX Toolkit with Comprehensive Resources to Promote Compliance with the 2024 Title IX Regulations

With the new 2024 Title IX Regulations going into effect on August 1, 2024, Franczek P.C. will offer everything your institution needs for compliance support.  

  • Annual Training: The new regulations require annual training for all those involved in Title IX compliance and a brief training for all employees. We offer trainings in both live-in-person, live-virtual, and asynchronous-virtual options.
  • Policy: Institutions have the option of maintaining a separate procedure for sex-based complaints or moving to one procedure for all discrimination and harassment complaints. We offer support for those seeking updates for either approach.
  • Toolkit: We offer a comprehensive toolkit of all forms and guidance documents helpful to support your team in following the new requirements.

K-12 Coordinator Training: This training is specifically tailored for Title IX Coordinators, providing them with both the training required under the new rules for Title IX Coordinators and tips and best practices for ensuring your institution’s compliance with the new rules. 

K-12 Administrator Training: This training is for any administrator who may serve as a Title IX coordinator, Investigator, Decision-Maker and Informal Resolution Facilitator

K-12 All Employee Training:  

Higher Ed All Employee Training:

In addition to our trainings, we also offer a Title IX Toolkit to include user-friendly sample notifications, templates, checklists, and flowcharts, and a Title IX Policy/Procedure Supplement (One-Policy Approach). For more information on these tools or to schedule a custom training for your team should these dates not work, please fill out this form.

For more information, pricing, and to register, click below. If these dates are not convenient for your team, contact TitleIX@Franczek.com or complete this form. We have broad flexibility to offer make-up sessions that fit your schedule as well as the option to purchase recorded sessions.

Now that the 2024 Title IX regulations have been released, what does your school need to do to be fully compliant by August 1? Over the next few months, our Franczek Title IX team will provide tips and information on key steps schools should take to be prepared. In this post, we will address training requirements for employees and Title IX officials under the new regulations. 

Continue Reading The 2024 Title IX Regs Are Here—Now What? Part I: Training Your Employees and Your Title IX Team

Earlier this morning, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released its long-awaited final Title IX regulations on sexual harassment. These new regulations, which replace the 2020 rules, will take effect on August 1, 2024. Until then, the 2020 rules continue to be in effect.  

Continue Reading Final Title IX Rule on Sexual Harassment Released Today 

As a quick update for our education clients, the Biden administration purportedly plans to delay the release date of the Title IX final rule on transgender athletes until after the presidential election. While the Department of Education has yet to officially confirm the news, the Washington Post reported last week that individuals close to the Biden administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, informed the Post that the administration made a political decision not to move on the Title IX athletics rule before the election. 

OCR first released a draft of the Title IX athletics rule in April 2023, a companion to the comprehensive Title IX proposed rule on sexual harassment that was released back in June 2022. As we reported last year, the proposed Title IX athletics rule would prohibit schools and colleges that receive federal aid from categorically banning students from participating in sports programs based on their gender identity, thus directly challenging state bans on transgender athlete participation. However, the proposed rule would also provide some flexibility for schools to determine their own sex-related eligibility criteria for more competitive sports programs. 

As a note, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) timetable has not been updated yet for either proposed Title IX rule, which are still both listed with a final release date of March 2024. While we anticipate that the Title IX rule on sexual harassment, which moved to the final stage of review in February, may be released late spring or early summer, given the numerous delays that we have seen already, this timeline is far from certain. 

We will continue to closely monitor the progress of the Title IX proposed rules, so stay tuned for further updates. As always, feel free to reach out to us for assistance in supporting your Title IX teams under the current rules. You can also check out our Title IX Trainings and Toolkits on our website here.