WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02), a founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, applauded the Department of Education’s announcement of proposed changes to Title IX regulations that will better protect students from violence and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. For the last half-century, Title IX has mandated equal opportunity to education without regard to gender while also empowering educational institutions to improve resources for survivors of sex-based violence and harassment and conduct internal investigations into reported incidents. Previous changes to Title IX regulations authored by the Trump administration in 2020 had gutted Title IX’s protections and made it more difficult for student survivors to seek action against their perpetrators.

Changes proposed by the Biden administration include restoring protections against all forms of sex-based harassment, re-establishing Title IX’s coverage to apply to incidents that occur off-campus, ensuring Title IX’s protections apply based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, creating new eligibility for retroactive complaints, and removing requirements for cross-examining witnesses at live hearings that can re-traumatize survivors.

“I’m grateful to Secretary Cardona and the Department of Education for this proposal to correct and strengthen Title IX,” said Kuster. “Today, on the 50th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX, we must recommit ourselves to its mission of equal opportunity in education – including making sure our schools and campuses are a safe. This proposal is a tremendous step forward toward ensuring everyone, including LGBTQ+ and pregnant students as well as students who have experienced sexual violence or harassment, have the protection and resources they need.”

“As a founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, I was appalled at how the misguided Trump-DeVos rule undermined the clear intent of Title IX and made it much more difficult for student survivors to seek justice through their schools,” Kuster continued. “At a time when 1 in 6 women and 1 in 25 men will be sexually assaulted during their college years, that is unacceptable. Today’s proposal makes clear to all survivors that they have rights and deserve to feel safe going to school.”