Degenfelder applauds federal Title IX announcement

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that the 2020 Title IX rules will be reinstated to replace the 2024 rules proposed by the Biden administration.

The 2020 rules “better guarantee due process for students and staff involved in Title IX investigations and confirm that individuals are protected based on their biological sex assigned at birth,” according to a news release from the Wyoming Department of Education.

The Associated Press reported that in a memo to education institutions across the nation, the agency clarified that Title IX, a 1972 law barring discrimination based on sex, will be enforced according to a set of rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

The rules govern how complaints of misconduct are investigated and how to settle cases where students present differing accounts.

The Biden administration had sought to overhaul the rules and expand Title IX to protect LGBTQ+ students.

“This is great news from the Trump administration as we continue to work on protections for women in Wyoming, including several bills currently before the Legislature,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said in the release. “This is about safety and fairness, and I will never stop fighting for our girls.”

This story was published on February 1, 2025.