A shocking delay in action by a Title IX official at a K-12 institution highlights the potential liability for at least one school district. Was this caused by a pause in Title IX trainings pending the outcome of injunctions?

– Susanna Murphy, Esq.

A Texas School District Tragically Postponed Title IX Training

According to a report by Austin-based NBC news affiliate KXAN, in February 2024, a Texas woman reported, at least to her school district’s transportation department, that her eight-year-old son had been sexually assaulted on a school bus. An official from that department contacted the district’s Title IX officials that very day, even reporting that they had video footage of the incident. Over a month passed before the Title IX Coordinator contacted the child or his mother. While seat assignments on the bus were changed, an investigation was not launched, nor was counseling offered to the child, before this contact over a month later. 

After the mother filed a Title IX complaint against the Title IX Coordinator who eventually was replaced, the then-interim superintendent referenced in a letter to the mother a statewide pause in Title IX training by the state’s Regional Education Service Centers due to confusion and uncertainty in light of the significant litigation, and ultimately injunctions, related to the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The Texas Education Agency later clarified that trainings had been postpone[d].”

Confusion Around Title IX Regulations & Guidance

It comes as no surprise to Title IX administrators and educational institutions around the country that school districts are confused about where to turn for guidance on Title IX. As we know, the Biden administration promulgated new regulations that overhauled Trump-era 2020 Title IX Regulations and took effect on August 1, 2024, but which had been promised months earlier on several occasions. Given that resources always are tight in school districts across the nation, many institutions and districts chose to delay (often repeatedly) the trainings required for their staff until they felt certain that these new regulations eventually would take effect. However, once the regulations became effective the confusion only grew. Lawsuits in multiple states ensued and wide-ranging injunctions were put in place in those states and beyond. As of the writing of this article, there are active injunctions in 26 states in the country, completely barring institutions and districts from implementing the new regs. The injunctions also reach beyond these states to hundreds of higher educational institutions and K-12 districts private institutions. Again, this encouraged districts and institutions to hold on providing not only mandated but critical training for their staff. 

Staff Must Still Be Trained in Title IX

By this point, the 2024 presidential election was looming and many districts and institutions declared, or more likely quietly resolved, to sit tight until the outcome of the election was known, as it seemed clear that if Trump were to win, the 2024 regulations would be short-lived, if ever put into effect. Districts and institutions have chosen to take a gamble and hold off on training to preserve their precious training resources. 

However, despite now knowing of Trump’s return to office, clarity on this issue still seems elusive. There remain many possible developments or reversals in Title IX Regulations. There are ranging predictions for how the injunctions will unfold and how the second Trump administration will approach the issue and how quickly it will be addressed, if at all. There certainly are many higher-profile issues on the incumbent’s agenda.

It serves no one to continue to hold off on training Title IX staff. Many aspects of the 2020 and 2024 Title IX Regulations are virtually the same. Both require the impacted institutions to take quick action. Both prohibit the majority of the same conduct. Both sets of Regulations require prompt action when a child is allegedly sexually assaulted on a school bus. Even if an institution or district is in Title IX limbo, it must protect its students and staff. There is no reason schools cannot provide training that lays out the immediate imperatives and provides caveats for possible future changes. These institutions will be liable if they do not keep their staff trained on whatever the current state of Title IX is for their institution and, in the meantime, their staff and students could be in harm’s way.

Need Title IX training? We got you covered with our IX Institute: https://ix-institute.thinkific.com/ 

References

1.  “Texas school’s handling of bullying case highlights Title IX challenges,” by Kelly Wiley, Posted Nov 12, 2024. KXAN. https://www.kxan.com/investigations/texas-schools-handling-of-bullying-case-highlights-title-ix-challenges/