Title IX is a hallmark of the Education Amendments signed into law in 1972 by former President Richard Nixon. Title IX protects the rights of students to not be discriminated against based on their sex in federally funded academic institutions.

Recently Title IX has been brought back to the spotlight as the Biden Administration added protections for LGBTQ+, pregnant or parenting students in academic institutions, and again as Chief Judge Danny Reeves, a Federal Judge in Kentucky, struck down these changes to the amendment.

The constant shift of language in the policy and its protections for students have left students confused about how they are protected in higher education, including here at Hamline.

In 2024, when all universities were required to update their Title IX policies to include the changes made, Hamline did as well.

“We changed our Title IX Policy and procedures to make sure it was compliant with federal regulation,” Title IX coordinator and Dean of Students Patti Kersten said. However, once the Kentucky ruling overturned the changes in the amendment, universities have once again had to change their policies back to the 2020 standard.

Association for Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), an organization that works to safeguard Title IX protections in educational settings evaluated the court opinion out of Kentucky.

“The likely effect of this court’s order is to take the unlawful agency action ‘off the books.’ Thus, as of today, it is a reasonable read of the court’s order that the entirety of the 2024 Regulations are not in effect for any school or college in any state,” the court record read. Using this information, Hamline administrators returned to its previous Title IX guidelines.

“For us that meant going back to what was in place July 31st of 2024. So that is what we did,” Kersten said. This means the university’s Title IX protections once again did not apply to LGBTQ+ identities as the language was shifted back to the original form. However, because of state-specific protections, LGBTQ+ students are secure under guidelines similar to Title IX.

Minnesota state Statute 363A “Secures for persons in this state, freedom from discrimination”. The statute specifies these protections “in education, because of one or more of the following: race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, marital status, disability, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, and age.”

This means that even though LGBTQ+ identities are not protected under Title IX on a federal level, there are state level protections that are reflected in Hamline’s policies. Hamline University's policies page includes a nondiscrimination section that uses language almost identical to the 2024 Title IX standard.

Even with all these protections, many students, faculty and staff are still worried about what their protections could look like in the future, and if there is anything they can do to safeguard their rights.

“Faculty and staff are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the Rainbow Inclusion Network (previously Safe Zone) training that we offer through the Gender, Sex & Sexuality Resource Center.” coordinator of the Gender, Sex and Sexuality Resource Center (GSSRC) Eli Scriver said via email. This training provides staff with resources and language to support LGBTQ+ students in a variety of situations.

Students were also tasked with completing online Title IX training before the school year began this fall following the significant updates in the policy. Although this training occurs annually, recent policy changes warrant a refresher for new and returning students. Despite the ever changing federal policy, Hamline aims to maintain a safe and secure environment for students, staff and faculty.