Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Title Ix Clery topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legal update: federal court vacates 2024 Title IX rules; Clery Act'related Stop Campus Hazing Act creates new reporting and transparency requirements
Summary
Deputy General Counsel Rachel Powell told the committee a federal court vacated the Education Department's 2024 Title IX regulations and the Department will enforce the 2020 regulations; Powell also outlined the Stop Campus Hazing Act's new requirements, timeline and differences between federal and Tennessee definitions.
The Audit and Compliance Committee received legal updates on Title IX and new Clery Act amendments related to hazing.
Deputy General Counsel Rachel Powell said a federal court in January vacated the Department of Education's April 2024 Title IX regulations nationwide. The Education Department has indicated it will enforce the 2020 Title IX regulations. "So our Title IX policies, the board policies, and the codes of conduct, we don't anticipate any changes," Powell said, adding the university will continue to operate under the 2020 regulatory framework.
Powell also briefed trustees on the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, which amended the Clery Act and became effective Dec. 23, 2024. The law creates three primary new obligations: (1) institutions must collect and publish hazing statistics in annual security reports using a federal Clery Act definition; (2) campuses must publish two new policy statements (a hazing policy that includes a campus definition and reporting/investigation procedures, and a prevention-and-awareness policy that is research-informed and reaches students, faculty and staff); and (3) institutions must post a campus hazing transparency report when a student organization is found to have violated campus hazing standards. That transparency report must identify the organization, summarize allegations (including whether drugs or alcohol were involved) and list sanctions imposed.
Powell noted a potential tension: the Clery Act uses a uniform federal definition of hazing for statistical reporting, but Tennessee law provides a state-level definition that the campuses use for disciplinary processes. "Tennessee state law has a specific definition of hazing that we're required to use on our campuses for disciplinary processes and we anticipate we will continue to use that," Powell said.
Implementation is rolling: campuses are already collecting hazing reports for calendar year 2025 to populate statistics in the October 2026 Annual Security Reports. Policy statements and campus transparency reports will be developed and posted according to statutory deadlines; system and campus implementation teams and standing Clery committees are working on operational details.
Ending: Trustees were informed of the vacatur of the 2024 Title IX rules and of new federal hazing requirements under the Clery Act; campuses and system offices will proceed with implementation work and coordination to meet public-reporting deadlines.
