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. 

We wanted to share a quick update that the final Title IX rules are now set to be released sometime in March 2024. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) just updated the final release dates on the Reginfo.gov website, which provides updates on federal regulatory actions, for both the Title IX rule on sexual harassment and the Title IX rule on athletic participation. Both Title IX rules were scheduled to be finalized in October 2023, but both received a large number of public comments, prompting the need for a longer review period by the Department of Education and pushing back the release date for both rules.  

We will continue to monitor the Title IX rule and agenda closely, so stay tuned for further insights and support from our Title IX team regarding the impact this new release date may have on your school’s policies, procedures, and training plans. And as always, do not hesitate to reach out for specific assistance with supporting your Title IX teams under the current rules.  

New school year, new roles, new personnel—these are just some of the reasons to schedule training on the Title IX requirements. While revisions to the Title IX regulations are pending, the 2020 Title IX regulations continue to apply and will for at least the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year. Read below for descriptions of our upcoming training options and click the links for pricing information. 

Continue Reading New Staff or New Roles? Franczek P.C. Offers Title IX Training for K-12 Administrators

As we head into the long weekend, we wanted to share a quick Title IX update from the Department of Education. The Department just announced through a blog post that due to the large number of public comments it received regarding its proposed rules to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, it is moving the anticipated release date of the final rules to October 2023. Originally scheduled to be released this month, the final Title IX rules are expected to significantly change schools’ current obligations for responding to reports and complaints of sexual harassment. The Department also shared that it intends to release the final rule addressing athletics in October 2023.

Stay tuned for further insights and support from our Title IX team regarding the impact this new release date will have on your School’s policies, procedures, and training plans for the upcoming school year. And as always, do not hesitate to reach out for specific assistance with supporting your Title IX teams under the current rules, both as you end the current school year and prepare for the 2023-2024 school year.