Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education’s 2026 Unified Agenda was formally published in the Federal Register, prompting discussion throughout the education compliance community about what may be coming next for Title IX, Title VI, Clery, and other civil rights regulations. Before diving into the individual items, it’s worth answering a simple question: What […]
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced investigations into five medical schools for alleged racial discrimination in admissions. Admissions-focused investigations are nothing new for OCR. These five are different because of how they were opened: jointly, with two other federal agencies involved from the start. OCR conducted this […]
On August 3, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a National Call to Action letter to every college and university president and governing board in the country, asking them to publish, by the end of 2026, a public statement describing their commitment to reforms the ED believes would help to restore public trust in […]
A federal law designed to protect students and employees from nonconsensual intimate images just reached full effect. It is worth understanding what it does, and being clear-eyed about what it does not do for the people who report these incidents to your school, district, or institution. What Just Changed? The TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed […]
On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it is partnering with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to protect parental rights in Kansas City, Kansas by jointly enforcing the ED’s April 2026 finding that Kansas City, Kansas Public School District (District) violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by […]
OCR recently released several disability-related resolutions that give a useful window into where the agency is focusing its attention under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The cases came out of very different settings, from a high school honors decision to a field trip and an […]
The Civil Rights Enforcement Landscape Just Shifted. Here’s What It Means. This week, the Department of Education (ED) announced four new Interagency Agreements (IAAs). IAAs are mechanisms used to transfer functions between federal agencies. The IAAs this week move some civil rights enforcement and training responsibilities from ED to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and […]
Documentation Is Your Defense. OCR’s Latest Resolutions Prove It. Having a Policy Isn’t Enough. OCR Is Looking at What You Actually Do. The Queue Is Growing But The Obligations Haven’t Changed. Your Written Policies Won’t Protect You But Your Implementation Will. OCR recently published several new resolution agreements and case closures that provide useful insight […]
Most Title IX conversations focus on students. A case the Supreme Court just agreed to hear is a great reminder that the law has never only been about students, and its application to employees has been less settled than many districts and institutions realize. Background On May 18, the Supreme Court accepted Thomas Crowther v. […]
This week, one of the most closely watched Title IX disputes in higher education is escalating fast with direct implications for every type of institution. On March 6, the California State University (CSU) system and San José State University (SJSU) filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Title IX determination by the ED’s OCR. Rather than […]
