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Latest Cases & Developments
Date:
U.S. Department of Education Reverses Former Regulatory Reporting Scheme (Feb. 10, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that it will begin the process of reversing both the information collections on the Perkins State Plan Guide and the Consolidated Annual Report Guide by directing the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to reinstate the prior versions of the State Plan Guide and the Consolidated Annual Report Guide, and communicating the change to state Career and Technical Education (CTE) directors. The former guidance, proposed in December 2024, required state and local CTE providers under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to revise their “Perkins V” State Plans outside of the traditional 5-year process and meet additional reporting requirements as part of their Consolidated Annual reports. This reversal follows concerns that were raised by the CTE community that the new collection would be disruptive and result in significant state and local administrative burdens, disincentivize innovation, weaken alignment with other federal laws governing education and workforce systems, reduce data quality, and include items not defined in statute.
Topics:
Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | StudentsDate:
U.S. Department of Education ICR Re: 2026-2027 FAFSA (Feb. 4, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid Office (the Department) published an information collection request (ICR) on suggested improvements to the 2026-2027 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Comments are due by April 7, 2025.
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Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | StudentsDate:
U.S. Department of Education Announces Changes to the FAFSA Form (Feb. 4, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that current and future Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms will remove “nonbinary” as a gender identification option from the current year’s FAFSA form and only reflect options for “male” and “female.” Additionally, the Department is modifying the current question about “gender” on the 2025-26 FAFSA form to collect data about applicants’ sex, consistent with Executive Order 14168 (“Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”). Finally, the Department plans to release full batch correction capability by the end of February, which is proceeding on schedule with the previously announced beta testing program for the 2024-25 FAFSA form.
Topics:
Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | StudentsDate:
Dear Colleague Letter: U.S. Department of Education to Enforce 2020 Title IX Rule Protecting Women (Jan. 31, 2025)
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights Dear Colleague Letter re: Enforcement of the 2020 Title IX Rules. The Letter states the binding regulatory framework for Title IX enforcement includes the principles and provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, 34 C.F.R. 106, and excludes and vacates the 2024 Title IX Rule. Pursuant to the Letter, open Title IX investigations initiated under the 2024 Title IX Rule should be immediately reoriented to comport fully with the requirements of the 2020 Title IX Rule. The Letter also states that Title IX must be enforced consistent with President Donald J. Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Resources pertaining to Title IX and the 2020 Title IX rule can be found here.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Discrimination | Students | Title IX & Student Sexual MisconductDate:
NSLDS Financial Aid History Report (Jan. 29, 2025)
The Federal Student Aid Office announced the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Financial Aid History Report is now available. The Report aids schools in determining the types and amounts of Title IV aid a student is eligible to receive by providing loan and grant history. It also informs schools of a student’s default on a Title IV loan and any obligation to an overpayment of Title IV aid.
Topics:
Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | StudentsDate:
Department of Defense Memorandum on Restoring America’s Fighting Force (Jan. 29, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Defense (the Department) published a Memorandum for Senior Pentagon Leadership titled: “Restoring America’s Fighting Force.” The Memorandum states that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, as defined in the January 27, 2025, Executive Order are incompatible with the values of the Department and the Department will strive to provide merit-based, color-blind, equal opportunities to Service members but will neither guarantee nor strive for equal outcomes. The Memorandum was published in accordance with Executive Order: “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” which formally prohibited any preference or disadvantage for any individual or a group within the Armed Forces on the basis of sex, race, or ethnicity. Additionally, the Memorandum states that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) will establish a Task Force to oversee the elimination of any program, element, or initiative that was established to promote “divisive concepts” as defined in Executive Order 13950 of September 2020 (“Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping”), or “gender ideology” as defined in Executive Order of January 2025 (“Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”). The Task Force will report on actions taken by the Department to terminate DEI initiatives by March 1, 2025, and issue a final report on June 1, 2025.
Topics:
Admissions | Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Discrimination | Race and National Origin Discrimination | StudentsDate:
Young Americans for Freedom v. U.S. Department of Education (E.D.N.D. Dec. 31, 2024)
Order denying Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiffs, two organizations, the Young America’s Foundation and Young Americans for Freedom, along with two individual students sought an injunction (1) prohibiting the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) “from enforcing or otherwise implementing the racial and ethnic classifications in [the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program (the Program)]” and (2) requiring the Department to notify universities participating in the Program that they cannot impose or rely on racial and ethnic classifications. Plaintiffs allege the Department’s underrepresented race criteria for the Program is unlawful under the Equal Protection Clause and such racial eligibility requirement “is a harm to [their] personal dignity.” While individual Plaintiffs both wished to apply to the Program, they ultimately chose not to because of their race (white) and lack of low-income or first-generation college student status. In finding that plaintiffs lack standing, the Court determined that plaintiffs’ alleged injury for “the denial of equal treatment” in the application and admission process will not be redressed by any injunction against the Department because the higher education institutions are also part of the administration of the Program. The Department awards institutions five-year grants to administer the Program on their campuses, and once funding is distributed, it is up to the institutions – not the Department – to select applicants. Because “there is nothing in the record that indicates the Department has any control over the grants once allocated to the institutions” and since institutions would not be bound by the Court’s order, the Court denied Plaintiffs’ motion for Preliminary Injunction and dismissed the case without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Topics:
Constitutional Issues | Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Equal Protection | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Race and National Origin Discrimination | StudentsDate:
OCR Fact Sheet: Ensuring Equal Opportunity Based on Sex in School Athletic Programs in the Context of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Activities (Jan. 16, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), published a Fact Sheet clarifying that under Title IX, schools remain responsible for offering equal opportunities in their athletic programs, including Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation paid to college athletes. Specifically, the Fact Sheet states that NIL deals should be considered part of an institution’s athletic financial assistance, similar to grants-in-aid or cost-of-attendance funds, which are used to calculate equal athletic opportunities for men and women. The Fact Sheet further explains that a school’s Title IX obligations may apply regardless of whether a student-athlete ultimately secures NIL benefits through their own school or with third parties. Finally, the Fact Sheet notes it does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to be binding beyond what is required by statutory and regulatory requirements already in place.
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Athletics & Sports | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Gender Equity in Athletics | StudentsDate:
Department of Education Overview of the Law Webpage Updated Following the Vacating of the 2024 Rule (Jan. 14, 2025)
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) updated its resource page on Title IX following the January 9, 2025, court order vacating the 2024 Final Rule. The page notes that “on January 9, 2025, a federal district court issued a decision vacating the 2024 Final Rule. Consistent with the court’s order, the 2024 Title IX regulations and these resources are not effective in any jurisdiction.” No new resources have been posted; the 2020 amendments are available on the webpage, along with additional information and technical assistance.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Discrimination | Students | Title IX & Student Sexual MisconductDate:
Tenn. v. Cardona (E.D. Ky. Jan. 9, 2025)
Order granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment and denying Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs, the states of Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia, along with plaintiff intervenor Christian Educators Association International and A.C., by her mother, sued the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) challenging the Title IX Final Rule and its corresponding regulations, and alleged the regulations are invalid, the Department exceeded its lawful authority in implementing them, and that the regulations are otherwise contrary to law. In finding that the Department exceeded its statutory authority and relying on the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in its reasoning, the court wrote “there is nothing in the text or statutory design of Title IX to suggest that discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ means anything other than it has since Title IX’s inception–that recipients of federal funds under Title IX may not treat a person worse than another similarly-situated individual on the basis of the person’s sex, i.e., male or female.” Finding that the Final Rule and its corresponding regulations exceeded the Department’s authority, and violate the Constitution, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, and denied the Department’s motion for summary judgment, ultimately barring the Final Rule from being enforced nationwide.
Topics:
Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Discrimination | Students | Title IX & Student Sexual Misconduct
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