Attorney General Bonta Moves to Dismiss Title IX Lawsuit in Light of Release of the Biden Administration’s Final Title IX Rule

Final Title IX rule aimed at strengthening protections against sexual harassment and sex discrimination in schools 

OAKLAND – Attorney General Rob Bonta, New Jersey Attorney General Mathew J. Platkin, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle A. Henry, today announced that they are moving to dismiss without prejudice Pennsylvania, et al v. Cardona (D.D.C.), a lawsuit challenging Trump era rollback of Title IX. The attorneys general of California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, leading a multistate coalition of 18 attorneys general, filed the lawsuit in 2019 challenging the Trump administration's Title IX rule that severely weakened prohibitions against discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. The coalition is moving to dismiss the suit in light of the Biden Administration’s release of a new final Title IX rule that addresses the issues raised in the current litigation, restores strong protections against sexual harassment and assault, and provides critical protection against discrimination for LGBTQ+ and pregnant, and parenting students.

“I am pleased that the Biden Administration’s rule reverses the severe flaws of the previous rule by restoring and strengthening Title IX protections against discrimination — including sexual violence and harassment. Thanks to this important move, we no longer need to fight the Trump-era rulemaking in court,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Students are entitled by law to protections against sexual harassment and forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity. I applaud the Biden Administration’s effort to correct injustices from the Trump era. Students will be decision-makers in the future, we must protect them at all costs.”

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that students receive an educational environment free from discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. In 2020, the Trump Administration abruptly deviated from more than 30 years of consistent implementation of Title IX to impose an onerous and harmful new process for Title IX sexual violence and harassment proceedings in schools. The department promulgated new rules that worked to simultaneously weaken protections for individuals subjected to sexual violence and harassment and burden schools with duplicative, courtroom-like Title IX proceedings. Rather than supporting state efforts to implement Title IX, the 2020 amendments hindered ongoing work to prevent and stop school-based sexual violence and assault at the local level. The 2020 amendments also imposed unnecessary barriers to student survivors seeking relief from sexual assault and harassment. These changes were put in place despite clear warnings from the Attorney General and coalition states the year prior. Accordingly, the States filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s rule in an effort to protect students.

 The new Title IX Rule, released April 19, 2024, ends nearly all of the harms imposed by the 2020 amendments by realigning Title IX’s implementing regulations with the statute’s broad nondiscrimination mandate. The new Title IX rule also helps preserve schools’ resources by limiting potential duplication of procedures. Additionally, of particular importance to the coalition, the new Title IX rule complements state laws that ensure greater protections for complaints and survivors, while preserving the rights of respondents under Title IX to fair and equitable proceedings.

The new Title IX rule:

• Better effectuates Title IX and aligns with congressional intent and longstanding practices.
• Standardizes and codifies definitions and procedures across Title IX enforcement.
• Improves the sexual violence and harassment complaint process for students in colleges and K-12 schools.
• Realigns Title IX’s sexual harassment standards and higher education proceedings to ensure a prompt and equitable resolution process for all students.
• Reinforces critical protection against discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnant and parenting status.

Please see the complaint and motion for case dismissal here. Please see the new Title IX rule here.