U.S. Department of Education Formally Restores the 2020 Title IX Regulations

On September 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education published Title IX Regulations to formally rescind the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX Regulations and restore the 2020 Regulations, effective immediately. This action brings the Code of Federal Regulations in line with the framework the Department has said it would enforce since federal courts vacated the 2024 Title IX Regulations in early 2025.

The 2024 Regulations made significant changes to the federal Title IX framework, including changes to the definition of sex-based harassment and protections related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy or related conditions. Multiple courts blocked enforcement before and after the Regulations took effect in August 2024. In January 2025, a federal district court vacated the Regulations nationwide, and another court did the same the following month. The Department then returned to enforcing the 2020 Regulations. The formal rescission completes the administrative clean-up and resolves the disconnect between the Regulations as published and the Regulations being enforced. In its September 28 announcement, the Department explained that the action is intended to provide clearer guidance to students, families, and educational institutions.

The final Regulations restore Part 106 substantially as it existed before the 2024 Regulations took effect. The Department views this as a restoration of the governing regulatory text—not a new set of compliance obligations. As a practical matter, schools that returned to the 2020 framework after the 2025 court decisions likely will not need to overhaul their procedures again. Still, this is a good time to confirm that policies, handbooks, forms, and training materials identify and reflect the correct Regulations.

The restored Regulations omit a few limited provisions. The Department did not reinstate: (1) the provision that barred a postsecondary decision-maker from relying on statements by a party or witness who did not submit to cross-examination, which a federal court vacated in 2021 in Victim Rights Law Center v. Cardona; (2) an appendix referencing vocational-education guidance that has since been rescinded; (3) an expired athletics adjustment period; or (4) decades-old, one-time self-evaluation and recordkeeping provisions.

The Department’s action provides clarity; the 2020 Title IX Regulations are once again the governing federal framework. Districts that already returned to the 2020 Regulations likely will not need to make significant changes. Even so, this is a good opportunity to review policies, forms, training materials, and current practices to confirm they align with the federal Regulations and any overlapping state-law requirements.

Practical Steps for K-12 Schools

• Verify that board policies, administrative procedures, notices, forms, handbooks, and website materials reflect the 2020 Regulations.
• Confirm that the Title IX Coordinator, investigator, decision-maker, and appeal decision-maker are properly trained on the 2020 Regulations and understand their respective roles.
• Ensure all employees understand how and where to report possible sexual harassment. In K-12 schools, every employee must report actual knowledge of Title IX sexual harassment to the Title IX Coordinator.

Contact a Franczek attorney to discuss policy compliance and training needs, our Title IX Tool-kit, or to request a training recording or other training option tailored to your Title IX team.