Deadline Drama: How Will the Education Department’s Delay of Title IX Rules Affect Colleges?

For the past several months, higher education pundits prophesied that the U.S. Department of Education wouldn’t meet its own deadline to issue final versions of two high-profile regulations. One regulation is broad and would dictate how schools must investigate sexual violence, while the other would prevent blanket bans on transgender athletes participating in sports aligned with their gender identities. But the regulatory process is time intensive, and, as expected, the rules’ final iterations are now planned for October. The decision immediately provoked criticism from advocates of sexual assault survivors who said the Education Department wasn’t moving fast enough. However, the delay could benefit colleges, theoretically giving them more time to prepare for a seismic policy shift.