The Biden administration plans to hold a public hearing in a bid to overhaul Trump-era policies on campus sexual misconduct and gender-based discrimination.
The US Education Department explained that the initiative aims to collect oral and written comments from students, educators, school officials, and anti-sexual assault and discrimination advocates.
No timeline has been released so far, however, the public hearing will be held before the administration releases its proposal on how educational institutions must respond to complaints.
According to the department, the hearing will be held for several days and will include a virtual component due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“Building educational environments free from discrimination where our nation’s students can grow and thrive is a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration,” US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said.
“Today’s action is the first step in making sure that the Title IX regulations are effective and are fostering safe learning environments for our students while implementing fair processes… I will work to ensure all students — no matter their background, who they are, or how they identify — can succeed in the classroom and beyond,” he added.
After the public hearing, a formal process dubbed “proposed rule-making” will be conducted to rewrite the rules in Title IX.
Last year, former President Donald Trump finalized new Title IX rules that require stronger proof of on-campus sexual misconduct and bolster the rights of those accused.
However, President Joe Biden released an executive order in March directing Cardona to conduct a thorough review of the regulation and consider rewriting it.