Last month, the Supreme Court denied the Biden administration’s emergency request to reinstate its new Title IX regulations which had been put on hold by lower courts. The 5-4 decision means schools in several states, including Covenant College, do not need to comply with the Department of Education’s new regulations that prohibit “discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.” 

In July, district courts issued injunctions in two separate cases, protecting certain colleges from complying with the new regulation.

Title IX History and the Biden Administration “Final Rule”

The original, 1972 Title IX prohibits “discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance.” The Biden administration made updates to the policy by expanding the definition of sexual harassment, adding more protections for pregnant students, students who are parents, and students who have had abortions, and increasing requirements about investigating Title IX violations. The administration also changed the 1972 policy to include “sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination” in its Final Rule, which went into effect August 1. 

Schools that refuse to comply could lose their federal funding.

Over the summer 2024, Covenant College’s Title IX team drafted a new policy in compliance with the 2024 regulations. Covenant College President Brad Voyles said that because of the college’s protection under the religious exception, the 2024 policy does not include changes in the areas that are the subject of the lawsuits: gender identity and abortion.

Covenant College acknowledges on its Title IX webpage that it is “currently operating under an injunction issued by the Kansas District Court as well as the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibiting the adoption of the 2024 Title IX Regulations. The College will continue to comply with the 2020 Title IX Regulations until further notice.”

In a statement to byFaith, Voyles said the college is committed to “cultivating an environment that promotes the dignity of our community members as image bearers and upholds a biblical sexual ethic. Therefore, Covenant College is committed to addressing sexual misconduct not simply to remain compliant to human laws, like Title IX, but ultimately because the Lord requires us to do so.” 

However, Covenant College will remain faithful to a biblical understanding of human sexuality regardless of how that definition might change in the broader culture.

“In places where Title IX policy deviates from God’s Word, we will not nor are under any obligation to submit to those regulations due to our religious exemption,” Voyles said. 

The Injunction

According to the Covenant College administration, the school is currently under two injunctions concerning Title IX regulations. One injunction comes from Georgia enjoining Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. A federal judge in Alabama ruled against the states, and the decision was appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, who ruled in favor of granting the injunction.

Covenant College was also covered by the injunction issued in Kansas v. U.S. Department of Education. In that case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas found the Final Rule “violates the First Amendment by chilling speech through vague and overbroad language.” 

The court’s decision applies only to the four states that went to court – Alaska, Wyoming, and Utah enjoined Kansas – and three organizations: Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, and Female Athletes United. In order to obtain standing in the case, the three organizations provided a list of more than 1,100 institutions where their children attend school. Covenant College was on that list, though Voyles said Covenant College played no active role in joining the lawsuit. 

Institutions covered by the injunction do not have to implement the Title IX Final Rule because the Department of Education cannot enforce the rule by removing federal funding.

Voyles said Covenant College has submitted an official letter requesting religious exemption from the Department of Education regarding Title IX. Its most recent exemption letter was sent in 2015, and its first letter was sent in 1988. 

“Being the college of the PCA affords us many benefits. The PCA’s clear convictions on human sexuality and the protection of human life bolster our religious exemption,” Voyles said. “Covenant College’s exemption is far stronger than many other faith-based institutions because of the direct oversight of the college by the denomination and the denomination’s clear theology on such matters.”