Title IX Final Rule Update

On January 8, 2025, a federal judge in Kentucky, in a case brought by several states against the Department of Education ("ED"), issued a ruling that vacated the most recent set of Title IX regulations that had gone into effect on August 1, 2024. This ruling had the effect of rendering the recent regulations null and void nation-wide and essentially reinstated as law the prior set of Title IX regulations (which had been in effect since 2020).

If you are interested, you can read the judicial memorandum opinion and order here.

In response to the court ruling, the 2024-2025 version of the Comprehensive Policy that had been implemented in August of 2024 was rescinded (no longer in effect). The previous version of the Comprehensive Policy, which had been in effect throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, was reinstated. This was necessary because the Comprehensive Policy is updated annually to ensure Loyola's policies and procedures are in full compliance with the Title IX regulations. Once the 2024 regulations -- on which the 2024-2025 Comprehensive Policy was based -- were rescinded, the Comprehensive Policy needed to be rolled back to the previous version, which is fully compliant with the previous Title IX regulations (which now are in effect again).

As a reminder, the most current version of the Comprehensive Policy can always be found at LUC.edu/comprehensivepolicy.

Practically speaking, this change will have little to no impact on most students or employees. Here in Illinois, many of the protections that had been covered under the (now nullified) 2024 Title IX regulations were already – and will remain – covered under applicable state laws and institutional policies.

Notably, this includes prohibitions against discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and pregnancy. Such misconduct has always been – and remains – strictly prohibited at Loyola.

The most significant change to Loyola's procedures is that for complaints alleging Title IX sexual harassment, hearings are now required before a finding is made. This is not new, however; Grievance Process hearings had been a part of the University's procedures such cases from 2020 through 2024. So this change is really a return to how cases were adjudicated at Loyola as recently as the 2023-2024 academic year.

Only slightly. Under the (now rescinded) 2024-2025 Comprehensive Policy, all employees were required to report any knowledge they had of potential sex-based discrimination (including sexual misconduct). Under the 2023-2024 Comprehensive Policy (now again in effect), employees are only required to report certain sexual misconduct involving minors, students, or employees.

While this change represents a slight narrowing of the circumstances that require reporting to the OEC, the University has always strongly encouraged the reporting of any form of discrimination -- including but not limited to sexual misconduct. This remains the case. Reporting concerns in a timely manner to the OEC ensures that any student or employee who may have experienced misconduct in our community receives important information about their available rights and resources, so they can make informed decisions about whether and how they may want to access services and/or initiate responsive action through the University. Timely reporting promotes a culture of accountability, safety, and inclusion, and is always highly encouraged.

Updated and detailed information about the Responsible Campus Partner reporting obligation is available here.

Title IX remains an important civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity that receives federal financial assistance (which includes Loyola). Title IX cannot be changed or amended except by Congress.

While the regulations -- the mechanism by which the Department of Education interprets, implements, and enforces Title IX -- may change again in the future, the OEC staff and our campus partners will continue to monitor the state of Title IX and other equity laws and will work diligently to ensure the rights of our students and employees are always protected.

As always, anyone with specific questions or concerns about Loyola’s nondiscrimination policies is welcome to contact the OEC staff directly.