The start of the school year for many counties in Georgia and K-12 districts across the country is only a few hours away, and the college semester is right around the corner. Another deadline, however, should be front of mind for K-12 and college administrators, this one related to the implementation of the updated Title IX regulations. The regulations, released by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on April 19, 2024, are set to be enforced as of tomorrow, August 1. That effective date has been impacted by a number of legal challenges that have left schools and universities in limbo while they awaited rulings. The most recent legal update came from a district court judge in Alabama who issued an important decision yesterday that has key implications for administrators and the rule’s implementation.

In short, the Alabama district court denied Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the 2024 regulations from going into effect on August 1. That denial means that, at least for schools not impacted by another injunction, the 2024 regulations are the law of the land as of the first day of school.

Upon their release, the regulations were immediately the subject matter of much controversy and litigation. Lawsuits were filed nationwide and ultimately more than half the states in our country joined a lawsuit against the DOE in connection with the regulations. Each case sought an injunction (a judicial order that would block the implementation of the regulations). On April 29, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina filed suit seeking a remedy on a similar basis to the other lawsuits filed: an injunction or a stay to the August 1 deadline. Courts that considered injunction requests over the last several weeks have handed down initial orders in almost all of the cases, enjoining part or all of the regulations and, in one case, enjoining the DOE from implementing the regulations in any state or school where a plaintiff party resided, even if that state or school was not a party to the case. This week’s Alabama ruling is a stark departure from that pattern of issuing injunctions.

With school approaching, the school districts and universities in these states were left in a state of uncertainty. Districts and colleges and universities had to decide whether to move forward with implementing the new regulations, which include extensive training requirements, or hold off with the expectation that an injunction would be issued in their jurisdiction prior to the August 1 deadline.

On Tuesday, July 30, the district court judge in Alabama issued an order denying Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina’s request for a preliminary injunction.

What this means:

• School districts and universities in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina must move forward with implementing the 2024 Title IX regulations unless a school is subject to a preliminary injunction order issued in another jurisdiction. If a school appears on a membership list published by Moms for Liberty, Female Athletes United, or Young America’s Foundation, the 2024 regulations are enjoined at that school, even if that school is in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina.
   
• Review the provisions of the 2024 regulations that grant increased flexibility to school districts, colleges, and universities to craft procedures designed to address sex discrimination and determine which form your school’s procedures will take.
   
• If you have not already done so, move forward with the training requirements contained in the 2024 regulations, including the new requirement for training all employees.
   
• Make any necessary updates to your Title IX procedures and/or policies to bring them into compliance with the 2024 regulations.
   
• Train investigators, decision makers, and Title IX coordinators to implement new rules.

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