As of today, the federal rulebook for America’s schools no longer mentions LGBTQ+ students.

On Monday, September 28, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced that the Department of Education is formally rescinding the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX rule and restoring the text of the 2020 rule from Donald Trump’s first term. The change was set to appear in the Federal Register on Tuesday, September 29, and it takes effect on publication, Education Week reported.

If that sounds like something that already happened, you’re not wrong. Here’s the honest version of what changed, what didn’t, and why advocates are angry anyway.

First, what is Title IX?

Title IX is the 1972 federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools and colleges that get federal money. Which is almost all of them. How it’s enforced depends heavily on the regulations the Education Department writes around it.

The 2024 rule was the first to say, in black and white, that Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination covers sexual orientation and gender identity, for students and school employees alike, according to K-12 Dive.

Wait, wasn’t that rule already dead?

In practice, yes. That’s the part the department keeps stressing.

  • Eight courts issued preliminary injunctions against the 2024 rule in 2024, and two courts vacated it in early 2025, per K-12 Dive.
  • Injunctions had blocked it in 26 states, and a federal judge in Kentucky struck it down in the final days of Biden’s term, Education Week reported.
  • The department has enforced the 2020 rule since January 31, 2025.

So the department’s line is: “Nothing changes in practice for individual students, parents, and teachers.”

McMahon put it this way: “Thanks to today’s action, the published Title IX regulations faithfully reflect court orders and congressional intent — reducing confusion for parents, students, and educational institutions,” as quoted by the Washington Blade and UPI.

So why does this matter?

Three reasons.

1. It’s now official, not just contested. While the 2024 rule sat in the Code of Federal Regulations, there was at least a written federal standard that named LGBTQ+ students. That text is gone. A future administration would have to write a new rule from scratch, a process that usually takes years.

2. Nobody got a say. Rule changes normally go through a public comment period. The department skipped it, arguing that comment would be “contrary to public interest” because it would “considerably delay” an update reflecting court decisions, K-12 Dive reported. The Human Rights Campaign’s release on the move was titled “You Get No Say”.

3. It hits survivors of sexual harassment too. The 2020 rule added due-process protections for students accused of harassment, and survivor advocates say it makes complaints harder to bring. The National Women’s Law Center warned the move “significantly weakens protections against sexual harassment in education,” per Education Week.

Shiwali Patel, the center’s senior director of education justice, was blunter: “Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the Trump administration have decided to ignore what survivors need, instead weaponizing Title IX to attack trans students,” she said, quoted by the Washington Blade.

HRC President Kelley Robinson told the Blade: “Title IX is, quite simply, about protecting students and ensuring that they are safe from abuse, harassment, and discrimination.” HRC also says the department has resolved zero sexual violence complaints since the administration took office, despite record submissions.

What might come next

This probably isn’t the last Title IX move. The 74 reported that the department is expected to follow up with an amendment defining sex as an “immutable biological classification as either male or female,” which would affect sports participation and bathroom access for trans students.

It lands after a rough year in the courts: in June, the Supreme Court upheld state bans on trans girls in girls’ school sports, and the fight over “social transition” in schools has become a national political project.

What still protects LGBTQ+ students

Federal rules aren’t the only layer. A few things to know:

  • State law still counts. Many states have their own anti-discrimination laws for schools, and some are adding more. California, for example, signed six LGBTQ+ bills last weekend.
  • School policies still count. Districts can, and many do, keep their own anti-bullying and nondiscrimination policies that name sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • States are fighting back in court. In August, a federal judge let part of Minnesota’s Title IX challenge move forward: whether Washington can use billions in education funding to force states to change their trans athlete policies.

If you’re a student dealing with harassment right now: it’s still harassment. Keep a record, tell someone you trust, and look up your state and district policies. Groups like GLSEN and the Trevor Project have been doing this work for decades, and they’re not going anywhere.

The rule changed. You still belong in your school.

Sources: Education Week; K-12 Dive; Washington Blade; UPI; The 74; Human Rights Campaign. Photo: Christopher Ryan / Unsplash.