The announcement came out of Washington, D.C. The rule being erased had spelled out protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and it also covered pregnant and parenting students. It strengthened safeguards for students across educational programs and activities.
In its place, the administration is restoring Title IX rules from Trump's first term, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Those earlier rules did not include the explicit protections for sexual orientation and gender identity that the Biden administration had added. The Human Rights Campaign framed the move as part of a broader pattern of the administration targeting LGBTQ+ students.
For colleges and universities, this means a shift back to an older framework governing how schools handle discrimination complaints and student protections. Students who relied on the Biden-era clarifications, including LGBTQ+ students and pregnant or parenting students, lose the specific federal backing those rules provided. With Sept. 29 as the deadline, schools have little time to figure out which rules now apply to them.
The reversal touches every school and college that receives federal funding, since Title IX applies nationwide. A rule finalized under one administration got wiped out within a single day's notice under the next, a turnaround that leaves schools scrambling to sort out how to comply.