Less than 24 hours before classroom bells were set to ring in schools across the southeastern United States, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order administratively blocking the implementation of the 2024 Title IX regulations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The ruling comes just one day after an Alabama district court denied the states’ request to block the 2024 regulations from going into effect. Wednesday’s Eleventh Circuit order provides clarity to schools in those four states: The 2020 Title IX regulations under which schools have been operating for the last four years remain in effect in those jurisdictions.

While this latest development certainly adds to the nationwide whiplash surrounding the roll out of the 2024 regulations, it provides at least temporary stability for school administrators and Title IX staff as the 2024-2025 academic year gets underway. Colleges, universities, and K-12 schools across the four impacted states should retain their 2020 Title IX policies, procedures, training programs, and guidance documents. The injunction is only temporary, however, and its existence may be short-lived. In fact, the Eleventh Circuit’s order indicates that the injunction may be in place for as short as seven days, as the states’ last court deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern time on August 7, 2024.

In the meantime, schools should continue to work behind the scenes to prepare Title IX processes that are compliant with the 2024 regulations in the event the injunction is lifted on short notice and the regulations become the law of the land. Regardless of which regulatory structure schools operate under during the beginning of the school year, administrators and Title IX staff should maintain clear and comprehensive records of all Title IX activity, including dates of when alleged conduct occurs, dates of when conduct is reported to the school, and all actions taken in response to allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, or misconduct.

Background on Title IX Court Updates

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 was a stark departure from that pattern of issuing injunctions. It was immediately impacted by the July 31 Eleventh Circuit ruling that blocked the Title IX rule in those four states.

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. The Eleventh Circuit’s order a day later blocked implementation of the 2024 Title IX regulations in those four states.

What this means:

• Wednesday’s Eleventh Circuit order provides clarity to schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina: The 2020 Title IX regulations under which schools have been operating for the last four years remain in effect in those jurisdictions.
   
• Colleges, universities, and K-12 schools across the four impacted states should retain their 2020 Title IX policies, procedures, training programs, and guidance documents.
   
• Schools should continue to work behind the scenes to prepare Title IX processes that are compliant with the 2024 regulations in the event the injunction is lifted on short notice and the regulations become the law of the land. 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 permitted.
   
• Administrators and Title IX staff should maintain clear and comprehensive records of all Title IX activity, including dates of when alleged conduct occurs, dates of when conduct is reported to the school, and all actions taken in response to allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, or misconduct.

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