Following an injunction filed by the Kansas federal district court, Elon University and other institutions across 26 states will not be able to implement the 2024 Title IX regulations, which were supposed to go into effect on Aug 1.

Colleges and other educational institutions that receive federal funding have to comply with Title IX, a civil rights law that is part of the Education Amendments of 1972 — which prohibits discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funding on the basis of sex. 

Throughout the existence of Title IX, there have been many amendments made in order to expand the protections of the law. 

The Civil Rights Restoration Act, which passed in 1988, expanded Title IX to cover any institution that received any federal funding, directly or indirectly. In 2006, Title IX was amended to be more flexible in single-sex classes and extracurricular programs at the primary and secondary school level. 

The most recent attempt to expand Title IX protections happened in 2021 when President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14201, which expands the definition of sex in Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the other proposed changes. Following Biden’s Executive Order, the Department of Education published the revised changes to Title IX in April 2024. 

Elon University law professor Catherine Dunham said she believes Title IX has done a lot of great work, especially in giving more opportunities for women to participate in extracurricular activities. 

“Before Title IX, you didn't have facilities for men and for women that were comparative,” Dunham said. “A lot of women's sports didn't receive the kind of development that men's sports did and Title IX really changed that.” 

In addition to the expanded definition of sex, the 2024 Title IX regulations include explicit protections from discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions; mandatory sex and gender-based harassment reporting for all faculty and staff to the Title IX office; and the inclusion of off-campus incidents under Title IX. 

However, the federal district court in Kansas filed an injunction, which stopped the implementation of the 2024 Title IX regulations in Alaska, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming. 

In addition to these states, there are also three organizations that are a part of the plaintiffs in this injunction, which include Moms for Liberty, Young America's Foundation and Female Athletes United. 

Dunham explained that part of the injunction process demands the plaintiffs prove that they have actual interest in this case. In turn, the judge asked the plaintiffs to make a list of every institution where a plaintiff has an appropriate connection — child, niece/nephew, cousin, etc. — to someone who would be affected by the 2024 Title IX regulations.  

Because of the nationwide scale of invested interest, this prevents 26 states from implementing the 2024 Title IX regulations, including Florida, Texas, South Carolina and more.

While North Carolina is not a part of this list, Elon University — along with other universities  across North Carolina — is also prevented from instituting the new regulations because a plaintiff in the injunction has an “appropriate connection” to the institution. Director of Compliance and Title IX coordinator Megan Karbley said this list is expansive and includes 700 colleges, universities and K-12 schools nationwide.

All of these schools, including Elon University, must remain compliant to the 2020 regulations and the injunction until the litigation can be ruled upon. According to Dunham, there is no concrete guess for when the litigation will start or end. 

“This thing about injunctions, it's the fight before the fight,” Dunham said. “It serves a very useful purpose, if you've got a good case and something might be dismantled before you can get your case heard, then the preliminary injunction kind of preserves the status quo while the case is moving forward.”

In the 2020 Title IX regulations, a situation involving discrimination or sexual harassment needs to be considered severe, pervasive and objectively offensive in order to be reported and processed under Title IX. Following a report, the next step would be a live hearing and cross examination between the two parties when an incident occurs.

“Our requirement now is to remain compliant with the 2020 regulations,” Karbley said. “What you'll see by the first day of classes is an updated policy that will have some of the changes in it that we were already planning to make. So for example, we have an alternative resolution policy that describes alternative resolution so students know what their options are.”

Karbley said the Title IX office’s biggest priority is to keep the campus aware of the current Title IX policy and continue to be a resource for students. 

“We're trying to listen to the campus,” Karbley said. “We're trying to make sure that the policies and the procedures are helpful and accessible. We’re trying to find as much of an even place to work from so that our campus feels that they're going to be aware of what's happening and they're not going to be caught off guard and that they feel like the support and the response from the tone of my office is consistent.”