In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Biden administration’s emergency request to allow the uncontested provisions of the final Title IX rule to be enforced in states where legal challenges persist. [SCOTUS Blog]
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was joined in dissent by Justices Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Sotomayor called the lower court rulings “overbroad” and “went beyond their authority” in her dissent.
- Zoom in: The updates to Title IX, which were supposed to go into effect nationwide on August 1, include protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation for the first time ever (which has drawn the most legal scrutiny). The final rule also covers accommodations for pregnant students.
- However, the new rule is being blocked in at least 26 states and at more than 1,000 specific schools and colleges, including in states without an injunction. Learn more about the tumultuous legal landscape surrounding the new Title IX rule from our team here.
Important note: This ruling is not a final decision in the various lawsuits across the U.S. The cases will return to lower appeals courts for further litigation, but may eventually be brought back to the Supreme Court for judgment if a resolution is not reached.
What’s next: Enforcement of the entire 2024 Title IX rule will remain on pause for the 10 states that are party to the two suits that went to the Supreme Court: Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. [The Washington Post, subscription model]
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Education will continue to enforce the 2020 Title IX rule in those states.
Go deeper: Read more from Higher Ed Dive and The Hill.
