US Education Department Formally Repeals Title IX Rule Protecting LGBTQ Students
The U.S. Department of Education announced in Washington on September 28 that it was formally repealing a 2024 rule that expressly treated discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as sex discrimination under the federal Title IX law. The new final rule is being published on September 29 and takes effect immediately, restoring regulations adopted during Donald Trump’s first administration in 2020 in place of the Joe Biden-era version.
The publication will make little immediate practical difference for schools and colleges. According to the Education Department’s final rule , courts vacated the 2024 regulations in full in January and February 2025, and the department has not enforced them for more than a year and a half. It has already operated under the 2020 rules since February 2025. The action now brings the published Code of Federal Regulations into line with those court decisions. The department dispensed with public notice and comment, arguing that the document makes no new policy choice and merely records the law currently in force.
The Biden administration’s rule clarified that sex discrimination included discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, sex stereotypes, pregnancy and related conditions. It also changed procedures for handling discrimination and sexual-harassment complaints. The restored 2020 framework does not expressly mention sexual orientation or gender identity, uses a narrower definition of sexual harassment and gives accused students stronger procedural protections. The repealed 2024 rule did not itself decide whether transgender athletes could compete on girls’ and women’s teams.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the action aligns the published regulations with court orders and congressional intent while reducing uncertainty for families and educational institutions. Conservative group Concerned Women for America welcomed the repeal , arguing that it restores a clear sex-based distinction and protects the rights of women and girls.
The LGBTQ rights organization Human Rights Campaign, by contrast, criticized the decision and the absence of public comment. Its president, Kelley Robinson, said the repeal weakens safeguards for LGBTQ students and survivors of sexual violence. The National Women’s Law Center likewise argues that the 2020 rules provide less protection for harassment survivors. As Education Week reported, supporters describe the move instead as a restoration of legal clarity and due-process rights for accused students.
Title IX is a section of a 1972 U.S. federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs receiving federal funds. The dispute in recent years has centered on whether that prohibition covers sexual orientation and gender identity and which procedures schools and universities must use when investigating complaints.
Uránia previously reported on a U.S. Senate hearing and proposals by the conservative group Concerned Women for America to write a biological definition of sex into Title IX .
