On April 19, 2024, the Title IX Final Rules on sex-based harassment & discrimination were released with an August 1, 2024 implementation date.
The Grand River Solutions subject matter experts are doing all the hard work, so you don’t have to. We will provide all you need for a successful transition, including practitioner-driven analyses and recommendations for preparation and implementation. Plus, we are ready to assist you with policy updates, training, consulting, and more.
This page and our News Page will be refreshed daily with updated information on how to best prepare for the implementation deadline. For complimentary access to live events, updates, forums, and more, including a recorded video of our April 25 Rapid Response Summary Session, join The River Connect.
Injunction Junction
The section below provides updates on injunctions blocking the US Department of Education’s 2024 Title IX Rules.
Helpful Links
6 STEPS FOR SUCCESS
NEW REGS? NO PROBLEM!
1) Form a Clear Action Plan
2) Activate your Title IX stakeholder team. Gather representatives who have a link to the Title IX policy and process, as well as prevention and training teams.
3) Indentify groups to be trained and determine when and how they will be trained.
4) Prepare your timeline for making changes, considering applicable levels of review and approval. For example, does your Board of Trustees have to vote on your revised policy?
5) Review and revise for compliance with the new rules: update your policies, procedures, forms, templates, checklists, and your trainings for your campus community.
6) Ensure Title IX personnel receive updated training ahead of the implementation date.
2) Update Your Policy & Procedures
We have created Supported Model Policies that comply with the 2024 Title IX Regulations and can be customized to reflect your unique institution:
- Institutional Branding
- Preferred Institutional Language
- Where the regs allow for discretion in process, the client will select desired process from a list of pre-drafted options.
State specific Supported Model Policy customizations are available for New York, California, Maryland, Washington, Texas, and Oregon.
Title IX Policy
The Title IX Policy includes procedures for the resolution of complaints of sex and gender based harassment that pertain to conduct prohibited under current Title IX regulations.
Nondiscrimination & Anti-harassment Policy
Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy includes procedures for the resolution of complaints that pertain to unlawful discrimination and harassment based on all protected classes, including sex and gender.
OPTIONAL ADD ONS
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– Resource package, including:
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- Procedure specific informational letters
- No Contact Directives
- Formal Complaint
- Notice of Allegations
- Notice of Hearing
- Process Flow Charts
- Process Checklists
REMINDER: Consultants can also support you in incorporating obligations codified in existing policies that may intersect with Title IX, such as those from state and local laws and collective bargaining agreements.
For those communities who wish to create policies specifically for your institution:
Collaborative Policy Review & Development
Grand River Solutions will work with your team to review and assess your institution’s Title IX, Sexual Misconduct, or Non-Discrimination policies. You can choose to work with us in one of two ways:
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Create or Update – Ask our team to review and assess your current policies and procedures and then develop new or updated, compliant policies and procedures with input from campus leaders and stakeholders; or
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Offer Suggestions – Ask us to provide feedback and guidance on your existing policies and procedures and offer suggestions to ensure policies and procedures are compliant with federal law and follow best practices.
3) Phone a Friend
Our Practioner-experts are here for consulting when you need us. We’ve travelled the route of past new regs and can help steer the path to a smooth transition.
4) Train with Practioners Who've Done the Work
Sign up for New Regs Training
Join the experts at Grand River Solutions for a 4-hour in-depth training on the 2024 Final Rule and its impact on colleges and universities, plus a separate 4-hour training for K-12 employees. Schedule now for spring & summer sessions.
Andrea Stagg
Director of Consulting Services
Joseph Storch
Senior Director of Compliance & Innovation
Jody Shipper
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Kelly Gallagher
Title IX Coordinator Services, Prod. Mgr.
Adam Wolkoff
Assistant Director of Resolution Services
Emma Hempel
Title IX Coordinator Services
and
Contact us for Private or In Person Training or
View the video of the Grand River Solutions expert practitioners as they guide you through an overview of the 2024 Title IX Final Rules. Sign up for The River Connect to get full access.
5) Support Your Work with The Right Software
Enhanced Duties for the Title IX Office
The Title IX Coordinator is now responsible for monitoring and documenting barriers to reporting and for taking steps to address those barriers, requiring clearer connections between prevention and response.
More Data To Track & Manage
There are new response obligations for all complaints of sex discrimination, meaning there will be a wider breadth of cases and an increased number of complaints to manage.
Multiple Paths for Compliance
Institutions have flexibility in regard to some procedural options, but are required to have those processes written in their policy and to have those phases and steps be transparent, equitable, and accessible to all.
Case Tracker, our software solution, is simply the premier resource available for meeting the demands of your Title IX & Equity office.
– automatically checks those added expectations off your to-do list, which include the collection of data that you need to fulfill your monitoring obligations
– organizes, defines, and automates the processes for each type of case, based on the applicable policy
– systemizes the timeline so you won’t miss deadlines or communications, employing reminders and alerts when a phase or step that has been set by your policy is due
– offers in-app communications with the parties, including status updates, so you can be prompt, equitable and transparent
– produces the data that demonstrates the effectiveness of your Title IX response processes, engendering trust in the system
Injunction Junction
This section provides updates on injunctions blocking the US Department of Education’s 2024 Title IX Rules
A NOTE FROM OUR TEAM
The frequent news regarding injunctions and legal updates is leaving many searching for clear answers for what lies ahead at a time where there are none. If you are a Title IX Coordinator serving an institution affected by a lawsuit or injunction, remember to stay in touch with your leadership and legal counsel when determining the institution’s next steps.
For those wanting to do more than just wait for injunctions and legal cases to resolve, you might consider whether your institution is comfortable taking steps that align with the 2024 regulations and do not conflict with the 2020 regulations; for example, offering lactation spaces for students, or reminding pregnant students that the Title IX Coordinator may be able to assist with modifications due to pregnancy.
RECENT NEWS
July 24, 2024
Another injunction: Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
We are up to 21 states with a preliminary injunction, spread across five cases (which all still need to be resolved, and then likely appealed, in due time).
We have two additional cases pending with no preliminary injunction (yet): one out of Oklahoma where OK is the only plaintiff, and one in Alabama where the plaintiff states are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. There are also four organizations as plaintiffs in the Alabama case: Independent Women’s Law Center, Independent Women’s Network, Parents Defending Education, and Speech First. The Alabama case could be another with members of organizations enrolled at schools all over the country.
Department of Education releases: 2024 Title IX Rules: Pointers for Implementation
July 15, 2024
The July 2nd decision from the Kansas court led to the injunction in Alaska, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming. It also enjoined the Department of Education from implementing or taking any action to enforce the 2024 Title IX Final Rule against “the schools attended by the members of Young America’s Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as any school attended by a minor child of a member of Moms for Liberty.”
What happened?
Those three organizations were all plaintiffs in the case, and they were directed to file a list of applicable schools by July 15. Those lists are attached below. The court ordered a preliminary injunction for all of these schools and institutions. Some of these listed schools are in states that already are subject to a preliminary injunction from a different lawsuit. But some are in states that have been part of advocacy in favor of the final rule.
As with the statewide injunctions from the other court orders (from courts in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Texas), these injunctions are preliminary, pending final resolutions of those cases.
What do we know?
We know that this situation is unprecedented. Schools are continuing to learn that they are impacted and discussing with their leadership and counsel what this means for them. The Attorneys General who worked together to file briefs in support of the 2024 final rule may be mobilizing.
How can we help?
Professionals working in the Title IX space are experts at navigating the ever-changing legal landscape. As you prepare for this fall, Grand River Solutions has practitioners who are thoroughly reviewing the details so you don’t have to. We can assist you in implementing current policies and procedures, as well as help you update or strengthen them. Additionally, we can support your training needs, whether you require standards from 2020 or 2024. Contact us to phone a friend and get answers to your essential questions, allowing you to focus on the upcoming school year.
LINKS:
LIST OF ENJOINED HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS AND STATES/ORGANZIED BY LOCATION
EXHIBIT B COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES BY YOUNG AMERICA’S FOUNDATION and FEMALE ATHLETES UNITED
July 11, 2024
An injunction was issued for Texas, marking the 15th state to become preliminarily enjoined. There is still outstanding litigation in a number of states. States pending litigation: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota. Those lawsuits could result in injunctions in those states or a nationwide injunction.
COMPLIMENTARY INFO SESSION
Many higher education professionals are living with uncertainty about whether or when the Title IX rules will apply in their state or for their school. In this session, Andrea Stagg will discuss strategies for moving forward during uncertainty, including with training, policy development, and more. What best practices might be adopted in light of these developments? Sign up for a complimentary membership to The River Connect to particpate in the forum and view the slides from the session.