President Joe Biden has proposed sweeping changes to the landmark Title IX law that would bar schools, colleges and universities from discriminating against transgender students and amend the rules that govern how educational institutions investigate and resolve claims of sexual assault and sexual harassment, reports the Washington Post. The proposal is the starting point of a lengthy process to create new guidelines on how the Education Department interprets and enforces Title IX, none of which require sign-off from Congress, and it undoes the narrower definition of sexual harassment established by the previous administration.
Under the proposal, schools will be required to accommodate transgender students by allowing them to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity, ban bullying based on their gender identity and ensure students are addressed by their correct pronouns. The new rules would not deal with whether transgender students should be permitted to participate in certain sports. At the same time, the proposed rules reverses some of the measures adopted under the Trump Administration, which sought to bolster due-process protections for those accused of sexual assault.