Judge blocks Biden's Title IX rule in four states, dealing a blow to protections for LGBTQ+ students
The Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students has been temporarily blocked in four states after a federal judge in Louisiana found that it overstepped the Education Department’s authority.
More Republican states challenge new Title IX rules protecting LGBTQ+ students
Another six Republican states are piling on to challenge the Biden administration’s newly expanded campus sexual assault rules, saying they overstep the president’s authority and undermine the Title IX anti-discrimination law.
College swimmers, volleyball players sue NCAA over transgender policies
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.
Restrictions on transgender student athletes’ participation in school sports signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott
House Bill 25 will require student athletes who compete in interscholastic competition to play on sports teams that correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificate at or near their time of birth.
NCAA declines to punish Baylor over handling of sexual assault allegations but criticizes university for “moral and ethical failings”
The report comes after investigations revealed Baylor leaders failed to report allegations of student sexual misconduct and protected football players accused of such behavior.
In AP survey, ADs raise worries about women's college sports
A new AP survey of athletic directors and conversations with ADs and conference commissioners during March Madness show concern about what would happen to women's college sports under proposals that would put more money in the pockets of some athletes.
AP study: Nearly 90% of esports scholarships going to men
Colleges and universities rushing to invest in the booming arena of varsity esports are overwhelmingly committing opportunities and scholarships to male players, according to data collected by The Associated Press. Boise State was among the more equal schools in the AP's survey, with 16 male players, five female players and three who identified as nonbinary. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger)Colleges and universities rushing to invest in the booming arena of varsity esports are overwhelmingly committing opportunities and scholarships to male players, according to data collected by The Associated Press. Many schools, intentionally or not, have sidestepped those restrictions by housing their esports program outside of the athletic department. AdBoise State was among the more equal schools in the AP's survey, with 16 male players, five female players and three who identified as nonbinary.
Biden order could change how colleges handle sex misconduct
Biden also signed a second executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council, which his transition team had announced before he took office. Any effort to rewrite DeVos’ rules would have to go through a federal rulemaking process that can take years to complete. AdRepublicans slammed Biden’s move and defended DeVos’ rules. The scope of cases that colleges must address is also likely to be expanded again under the Biden administration, he said. Biden is starting the process even as DeVos' policy faces ongoing legal challenges.
States sue to block DeVos' campus sexual assault overhaul
Democratic attorneys general in more than a dozen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday attempting to block Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' new policy guiding schools and colleges in the handling of sexual assault cases. The lawsuit alleges that DeVos' policy undercuts existing mandates in Title IX, the 1972 law barring discrimination based on sex in education. It also challenges DeVos' order to implement the rules by Aug. 14, saying the deadline is impracticable during a pandemic. DeVos' new policy bolsters the rights of the accused, narrows the definition of sexual harassment and allows students to question one another at live hearings, among other changes. It says the policy forbids schools from addressing isolated cases of abuse because the new definition of sexual harassment is limited to pervasive cases.