July 12, 2022
The U.S. Department of Education posted proposed Title IX regulations on June 23, 2022, which were published in the Federal Register on July 12, 2022. A 60-day notice and comment period is now underway, with comments due to the Department of Education on or before September 12, 2022.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) aims to actualize Title IX’s goals of preventing sex discrimination in education and ensuring that all students are able to access equal educational opportunities. The NPRM broadens the definition of sex discrimination to include discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy status as well as discrimination due to sex- and gender-based violence. As such, the NPRM codifies protection for LGBTQI+ and pregnant students and employees. Further, the NPRM reiterates the Department of Education’s commitment to requiring that schools promptly respond to all complaints of sex discrimination through a fair process that treats complainants and respondents equitably.
The University is conducting a full analysis of the proposed regulations and their potential impact on UW processes and protocols. Based on initial analysis, some of the NPRM’s most impactful changes include:
- More UW employees will be required to take action and report any time they learn that someone has potentially experienced sex discrimination;
- The broader definition of “sex discrimination” will lead to more complaints of alleged behaviors being addressed under a Title IX framework at UW, though the grievance procedure will be less prescriptive than was required by the 2020 federal Title IX regulations;
- UW’s provision of modifications and accommodations for pregnant students and employees will likely be expanded.
As a member of the University community, we welcome anything you’d like us to consider as we prepare content for a UW institutional response to the NPRM. If you’d like to provide input, please email that to titleix@uw.edu. Additionally, any individual can provide their own feedback to the Department of Education. Instructions for how to do so are in the published NPRM.