Watchdog says Biden Education Department defied court order on Title IX enforcement

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(The Center Square) – A watchdog group says the U.S. Department of Education ignored a federal court order on the Biden administration's expansion of Title IX protections and is dragging its feet on a report about it.

Empower Oversight said a whistleblower came forward showing the Department’s Office for Civil Rights continued to process complaints involving gender identity and sexual orientation despite a federal judge in Tennessee blocking the Biden administration from enforcing that guidance in July 2022.

“Court orders are not suggestions. Federal officials cannot ignore injunctions simply because they disagree with them,” Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight, said in a news release. “Yet our client disclosed that the Biden Department of Education did just that when it came to enforcing Title IX."

The Office of Special Counsel told the Department of Education to investigate and file a report. 

The agency issued a report in December 2024, but OSC requested additional information in February. Empower Oversight says the department has not finished the updated report more than six months later.

“It’s now been over a year since OSC transmitted to the Department of Education our client’s whistleblower disclosures,” Leavitt said. “Department leadership should ensure that the final investigative report is completed and transmitted to OSC so the agency can make it public as the law requires.”

Cases tied to the whistleblower’s claims involve schools in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to Empower Oversight. The group said some of those cases could be closed soon.

One example came last year in Owasso, Oklahoma. Owasso Public Schools said in November 2024 that it signed a “voluntary resolution agreement” with the Office for Civil Rights after a Title IX complaint. 

While OCR found no violations, the district agreed to policy changes, additional training, website updates, and remedies for the student involved. The district said the deal reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining federal funding and ensuring “a non-discriminatory and harassment-free environment for all students.”

In Georgia, federal officials looked into complaints in Forsyth County, a district that has been a focal point in national debates over school library books. After parents challenged controversial titles, the Department of Education said the district may have created a hostile environment for students and reached a settlement that required new policies and student surveys.

Leavitt said some of the Education Department employees tied to the whistleblower’s allegations were later part of a reduction in force, but a court order has since required some of them to be rehired. He said that makes it especially important for the department to finish the report and hold people accountable.