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On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) approved Iowa’s “Returning Education to the States Waiver,” making Iowa the first state to receive such approval. This waiver frees Iowa from several requirements related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) and thereby give it greater flexibility in how it uses certain federal education funds.Background: July 29, 2025 Dear Colleague LetterOn July 29, 2025, the Department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to the chief school officers of each state, along with an accompanying press release. The letter began by noting, “[T]he…
Continue Reading Iowa Every Student Succeeds Act Waiver Approved by U.S. Department of Education

The legal landscape for transgender rights in the United States continues to evolve rapidly, with the U.S. Supreme Court (the “Court”) and federal courts issuing pivotal decisions. The past year has seen high-profile cases on access to gender-affirming care, participation in school sports, restroom policies, and the intersection of First Amendment rights with issues of gender identity. These cases have resulted in a patchwork of rulings and left many legal questions unresolved, with significant implications for students, educators, and families nationwide.

Supreme Court Action

Last June, in United States v. Skrmetti, the Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming…
Continue Reading Transgender Rights in the Courts: A Year of Landmark Decisions and Pending Questions

The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari on January 17, 2025, in A.J.T. by and through A.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 279, 96 F.4th 1058 (8th Cir. 2024), cert. granted sub nom. A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, No. 24-249, 2025 WL 226839 (U.S. Jan. 17, 2025). At issue is whether students with disabilities are required to satisfy a “bad faith or gross misjudgment” standard when seeking relief against school districts they allege have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Factual Background

The plaintiff, referred to as Ava in court documents,…
Continue Reading Supreme Court to Hear Case on Legal Standard for Cases Brought by Students with Disabilities

The legal saga surrounding the 2024 Title IX Regulations reached a new peak earlier this month. On January 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in Tennessee v. Cardona, one of the cases challenging the 2024 Title IX Regulations. In doing so, the court vacated the 2024 Title IX regulations nationwide.

Although the litigation in the Eastern District of Kentucky did not challenge every provision of the 2024 regulations, the court nonetheless found that the challenged provisions so permeated the regulations the regulations in their entirety…
Continue Reading Title IX Litigation Tracker: 2024 Title IX Regulations Vacated by District Court

It has been two months since the August 1, 2024 implementation date for the 2024 Title IX regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) and schools across the country still face uncertainty from the court cases challenging the regulations.

Since their publication, the new regulations have faced strong opposition by states and national advocacy organizations. Twenty-six states and numerous private parties have filed or joined lawsuits seeking to block the implementation and enforcement of the regulations. Though the litigation has slowed down a bit from the pace leading up to the August 1, 2024 implementation deadline, multiple key…
Continue Reading Title IX Litigation Tracker: Where Do Things Stand Two Months After Implementation?

On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) released the long-awaited Final Rule to Title IX. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a statute with corresponding regulations that protect people from being excluded, denied benefits, or subject to discrimination under any education program or activity “on the basis of sex.” These regulations apply to every school at the K-12 and postsecondary level that receives federal financial assistance.

Since their publication, the 2024 Title IX regulations have faced strong opposition by states and national advocacy organizations who argue that they violate the Administrative Procedures…
Continue Reading Title IX Litigation Tracker: Tensions Rise as Litigation Remains Active Between States and the Federal Government Over Title IX Regulations

On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Fact Sheet, which provides guidance to help school districts prevent and address discrimination, including harassment, based on race, color, or national origin. The Fact Sheet clarifies the legal obligations of school districts under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

Through the fact sheet, OCR provides guidance related to identifying and addressing harassment that may create a…
Continue Reading OCR Releases Fact Sheet on School Districts’ Obligations under Title VI

In 2022, state and local governments banned 2,571 different books. This is more books than were subject to such bans in the previous three years combined (2,436). Most of these efforts are taken at the local level. Texas’ Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources (READER) Act marked a departure from this practice and sought to ban books statewide. However, the United States Court of Appeals for Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) recently upheld a preliminary injunction against portions of Texas’ law.

Background on Texas’ Sexual Book-Rating Law

In June 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the READER Act, which…
Continue Reading In Bed with Book Vendors: Fifth Circuit Upholds Preliminary Injunction Against Texas’ Sexual Book-Rating Law

On November 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s (“Department”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released new civil rights data from the 2020-2021 school year, as well as seven data reports and snapshots which provide an overview of that data. OCR also launched a redesigned Civil Rights Data Collection (“CRDC”) website that includes public-use data files, reports, and snapshots, which school districts can use to review their own and other districts’ data, available here.

OCR’s CRDC, a mandatory survey of public schools, provides the federal government and the public with data about the extent to which students have…
Continue Reading Civil Rights Data on Students’ Access to Educational Opportunities During the Pandemic Released by U.S. Department of Education

The Biden Administration has made concentrated efforts to address the rise in reports of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and other hate-based or bias-based incidents in schools and on college campuses since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict. On November 7, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s (“Department”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Dear Colleague Letter reminding schools of their legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) to provide all students with a school environment free from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.

The Dear Colleague Letter states that OCR will…
Continue Reading U.S. Department of Education Guidance and Resources about Addressing Discrimination and Harassment on the Basis of National Origin

On August 4, 2023, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), on accessibility requirements for online and app-based services offered by state and local government entities, including public schools, community colleges, and public universities.

According to a press release from DOJ, the purpose of the proposed rule is to make online and app-based services more accessible for individuals with disabilities. The rule also aims to offer clarity to state and local governments as they shift traditionally in-person services onto virtual platforms. DOJ created a fact …
Continue Reading DOJ Releases Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Online Accessibility Requirements

In 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) released a Fact Sheet on Ensuring Meaningful Participation in Advanced Coursework and Specialized Programs for Students Who Are English Learners (“Fact Sheet”), which is available here. The Fact Sheet provides data showing OCR found that students who are English Learners (“ELs”) have lower participation rates in specialized or advanced programs offered at elementary and secondary schools. OCR noted that schools must ensure eligibility for such programs, such as evaluation and testing procedures, do not screen out ELs because of their limited English proficiency, unless a program requires…
Continue Reading OCR Fact Sheet on Ensuring Meaningful Participation in Advanced Coursework and Specialized Programs for Students Who Are English Learners

In April 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs and Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams. The final rule is expected to be released in spring 2024. For highlights from the Department’s NPRM, see our blog post available here.

Last winter, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released three resources to support equal opportunity in athletics under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). OCR designed the documents to help…
Continue Reading Anticipating Regulations on Athletics Opportunities Under Title IX: A Look Back at 2023 Guidance from OCR

Husch Blackwell’s Joe Diedrich appeared recently on the Institute for Justice’s Short Circuit podcast to provide analysis in connection with the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Biggs v. Chicago Board of Ed. The appellate court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in the case below, a dispute between a fired elementary school’s interim principal and the Chicago Public Schools system.

The plaintiff in the case alleged that the Chicago Board of Education deprived her of her liberty to pursue her occupation as a school administrator without due process when it made stigmatizing public statements about her in connection…
Continue Reading 7th Circuit Affirms Chicago Board of Ed Win in Occupational Liberty Case

On April 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2023, on athletic eligibility under Title IX. The express aim of the proposed rule is to advance Title IX’s goal of ensuring equal opportunity in athletics. While working with stakeholders to develop the proposed rule, the department learned that there is uncertainty about when and how students who identify as transgender can participate in school-sponsored sports, and the proposed rule seeks to provide clarity for students, parents, and schools. The department provided a fact …
Continue Reading Highlights from the Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Concerning Athletic Eligibility

On May 1, 2023, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released its annual report for Fiscal Year 2022. The FY 2022 report focused on civil rights complaints, proactive compliance reviews, technical assistance presentations, and revised policies and regulations. The highlight of the report was the unprecedented surge of civil rights complaints filed with OCR. OCR confronted the highest volume of complaints in its history, receiving 18,804 complaints. OCR resolved a total of 16,515 complaints, the second-highest number in its history. In addition, OCR conducted 100 proactive compliance reviews, published seven sets of resources and guidance, and provided 186 technical assistance…
Continue Reading U.S. Department of Education: A Close Look at the Office for Civil Rights Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report for K-12 Education