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1 [1] (September 3, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqna0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing th~ IegisIat~ve d&bate s~nce 1914 September 3, 2024 Education Department Updates Title IX Regulations: Protections for Pregnant Students and Employees Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (hereinafter, Title IX) bars sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal financial assistance (20 IS.C §§ 1681 et seq.). The U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) regulations implementing Title IX cover all educational institutions that receive funding from ED programs, including all K-12 public school districts and most colleges and universities. In mid-2024, ED updated these regulations in a number of ways (34 C. FR. Part 106). Among other things, the updated regulations define the scope of sex discrimination under Title IX to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. They also alter the obligations for educational institutions when responding to allegations of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment. Both changes are addressed in other CRS products (see LSB 11175 and LSB 11200). The updated Title IX regulations also adopt new requirements for educational institutions aimed at eliminating discrimination against pregnant students and employees. This In Focus discusses these regulatory updates. The: upaed Title IX regulations took effect on August 1, 2024. However, various courts have issued preliminary injunctions against the updated regulations in their entirety. The injunctions currently cover 26 juridictins as well as an assortment of schools in which students or their parents are members of certain plaintiff groups. In general, the court decisions have largely focused on ED's interpretation of sex discrimination to include discrimination based on gender identity. The Biden Administration sought to narrow the injunctions. On August 16, 2024, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court denied the government's application for a partial stay of certain preliminary injunctions pending resolution of appeals in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits. For now, ED is barred from enforcing any portion of the updated regulations in certain states and selected schools. According to ED, the agency's prior Title IX regulations, amended in 2020, remain in place for these states and schools. Previous Title Regulaton OOn Pregnancy and Notice of Proposed Prior Title IX gulations, first adopted in 1975, contained several provisions pertaining to pregnancy. For instance, they barred discrimination against students on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom. Educational institutions were also generally required to allow a student's leave of absence based on these conditions as long as it was deemed necessary by a physician. Further, the regulations banned discrimination in employment on these bases and required educational institutions to allow an employee's leave of absence for these conditions. (Though beyond the scope of this In Focus, employees enjoy additional pregnancy related protections under other federal statutes. For more on these laws, see CRS Report R46821, Pregnancy and Labor: An Overview of Federal Laws Protecting Pregnant Workers, by April J. Anderson.) Following a 2022 Notice of Prop od Rulemaking, ED received comments regarding pregnancy discrimination at school. Commenters shared various experiences related to their pregnancy, including being asked to withdraw from a postsecondary institution and being excluded from school activities or programs. Commenters also noted that they had been discouraged by their educational institution from having more children, were denied accommodations generally, and often were unaware of their rights under Title IX regarding pregnancy. Some noted that when schools learn of a student's pregnancy, they may pressure the student to attend a different school of lower quality. Another prominent concern was the lack of lactation spaces, which can impair health and interrupt learning. Updated TitleX Regulations In its F Il Rule, ED made a number of amendments to its Title IX regulations that pertain to pregnancy. The new rule broadens the definition of pregnancy and related conditions and adds new requirements for educational institutions concerning rights for pregnant students and employees. Scope of Protection (Defin tion) The updatd reguans provide that educational institutions must not discriminate based on current, potential, or past pregnancy or related conditions. Under the regulations, pregnancy or related conditions mean pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. The preamble to the regulations explains that the definition applies to the full spectrum of processes and events connected with pregnancy. The preamble acknowledges that there are numerous potential medical conditions related to pregnancy, including (but not limited to) fatigue, dehydration, nausea, anemia, and prenatal or postpartum depression. nteraction with Abortion Neutralty Provision and Relgious Exemption nTteX While both the prior and updated regulations prohibit covered educational institutions from discriminating against