Title IX, DEI, and the Education Department
Moving
The 2020 Title IX rule is back in the federal code. The department itself was not abolished.
Post this to X, with the sourceThe promise
Restore the older Title IX rule. Keep men’s teams from competing in women’s sports under federal policy. Stop requiring DEI as a condition of federal money. Some campaign talk went further: close the department.
What happened
- 2020 Title IX rule restored to the Code of Federal Regulations, September 2026.
- DEI executive orders left standing by the Fourth Circuit at the injunction stage.
The department still exists. Linda McMahon is the secretary. Closing it is a statute. That statute has not become law.
On September 28, 2026 the Department of Education said it had formally rescinded the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX regulation and put the 2020 Trump rule back into the Code of Federal Regulations. A law-firm writeup of the Federal Register filing says the text was published September 29, 2026 and was effective on publication. The department said nothing changed in day-to-day enforcement, because it had been applying the 2020 rule since January 31, 2025, after courts had enjoined and then vacated the 2024 rule. The 2020 text uses a narrower definition of harassment and, at colleges, live hearings with cross-examination.
Two early executive orders aimed at DEI programs survived a major early challenge. Higher Ed Dive, February 10, 2026: the Fourth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction against the orders. The panel said the challengers lacked standing on one provision and were unlikely to succeed on the others. That is not the last word on every campus. The same coverage notes that individual grant cancellations are still being litigated.
What is holding it up
Abolishing a cabinet department needs Congress. Republicans do not have the votes to do that over a filibuster, and they have not done it by majority either. Title IX’s application to sports can still move by lawsuit, by the next secretary, or by the Supreme Court. The Fourth Circuit ruling was an early procedural win for the orders, not a finding that every school policy in the country is settled.
Still ahead
- Department of Education not abolished.
- Grant fights and sports cases still in court.
Dates
Jan 31, 2025 · Agency
Department says it is enforcing the 2020 rule
Stated in the September 28, 2026 press release as the practice since that date.
Feb 10, 2026 · Court
Fourth Circuit lifts the DEI injunction
Preliminary injunction vacated. Standing and likelihood of success. Not a final ruling on every program.
Sept 28, 2026 · Rule
2024 Title IX text taken out of the code
Department of Education final action. 2020 language formally restored.
The federal Title IX regulation you can look up in October 2026 is the 2020 version, not the 2024 rewrite. Your district still writes a lot of the day-to-day rules. The Department of Education is still there.
Updated October 13, 2026.
Call your reps