Biden administration upholds ban on disciplining athletes accused of sexual misconduct, punts ruling on transgender athletes

Under proposed Title IX regulations from the federal government released Thursday on the 50th anniversary of the law, coaches and athletic department administrators would still be barred in most cases from removing an athlete accused of sexual misconduct from a sports team while an investigation is pending.

While the U.S. Department of Education proposed rolling back several of the Title IX provisions enacted in 2020 by the Trump administration — including the standard of evidence needed to determine a violation occurred — it keeps in place the provision that prevents disciplinary action against students until an investigation has determined they were at fault.

The long-anticipated proposed regulations cover a wide range of issues pertaining to how schools enforce the Title IX gender equity law in responding to allegations of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination. For the first time, the rules would formally protect LGBTQ students under Title IX, making clear that «preventing someone from participating in school programs and activities consistent with their gender identity would cause harm in violation of Title IX,» according to the department.

However, the department held off in proposing rules regarding the eligibility of transgender athletes in sports, saying it will engage in separate rulemaking «to address whether and how the Department should amend the Title IX regulations to address students' eligibility to participate on a particular male or female athletics team.»

During a call with reporters, a senior education department official said there's no specific timeline for those proposals but noted that «we know that these issues are urgent and very important to address.»

U.S. Department of Education