Just a few short weeks ago, college students were in the midst of their spring semester, contemplating spring break, finals, graduation, and athletic conferences. At the same time, members of higher education institutions anticipated the release of the Department of Education’s (DOE) final version of the proposed Title IX regulations. As of the beginning of the year, the DOE sent a finalized version of the regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), indicating that the regulations were in the “Final Rule Stage.” The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) website indicates that the meetings on the proposed regulations concluded as of March 27, 2020.
However, along with businesses across the world, college and university campuses in the United States were turned inside out by the arrival of the novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. In a matter of weeks, institutions of higher education transitioned from in-person instruction to remote instruction, and many students departed campus indefinitely. Graduations were postponed or converted into online ceremonies.
Given the unprecedented changes in institutions of higher education over the past few weeks, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, joined by eighteen other attorneys general, submitted a letter to the DOE and the OMB requesting suspension of the rulemaking process for the proposed regulations while the nation’s education institutions respond to the national emergency caused by COVID-19, and until institutions resume their normal operations. Attorney General Shapiro cited the fact that more than 1,140 colleges and universities are temporarily closed, affecting more than 14.5 million students.
Attorney General Shapiro stated, “with school resources already stretched thin, now is not the time to require school administrators, faculty, and staff to review new, complex Title IX regulations, revise their schools’ policies in response, and communicate these changes to students and parents.” Attorney General Shapiro argued that finalizing the proposed regulations at this time would add significant confusion to ongoing Title IX investigations that have already been interrupted.
Continue Reading Correspondence Encourages the DOE Not to Release New Title IX Regulations Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
