A flurry of lawsuits were filed this week by state attorneys general in response to the Biden administration’s recent changes to Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, but experts say one suit challenging the rollback in protections for those accused of sexual assault may bring additional litigation.
Over the past week, four separate lawsuits have been filed by state attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, after the Department of Education released the final version of Title XI regulations April 19. The regulations, which are set to take effect Aug. 1, expand protections for pregnant individuals and students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex, but it also allows schools to return to the single-investigator model, offer an informal resolution procedure, and eliminate a live hearing requirement in instances of handling sexual assault claims.