Despite expectations that the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) would release new Title IX regulations last fall, the final version of the new Title IX rule was not issued until half a year later on May 6, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of state attorneys general filed a suit seeking an injunction to prevent the new regulations from being implemented on the proposed date of Aug. 14. However, on Aug. 12, federal District Court Judge Carl Nichols denied the injunction, and both secondary and post-secondary educational instructions are now required to conform their Title IX policies and procedures to the new regulations.

In January 2020, prior to the release of the final Title IX Rule, the DOE created a new “Outreach, Prevention, Education and Nondiscrimination Center,” otherwise known as “the OPEN Center.” The OPEN Center, staffed by Office of Civil Rights attorneys, provides technical assistance to help educational institutions become compliant with federal civil rights law prior to the filing of a complaint.