On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to schools about sexual abuse and harassment of K-12 students by teachers, staff and other adults in authority. The same day, its Office for Civil Rights announced 20 directed investigations of school districts. The letter does not create new rules. It restates duties that schools already have under federal law, and it tells schools where the Department plans to focus.
Which Title IX rules apply now
Title IX bars sex discrimination in schools that receive federal money. Sexual harassment, including sexual abuse of a student by an employee, is a form of sex discrimination under Title IX.
The Department’s detailed Title IX rules changed in 2024. But on January 9, 2025, a federal court in Kentucky vacated the 2024 rule nationwide in Tennessee v. Cardona. The court said this would return schools to the earlier rules. On February 4, 2025, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights told schools it would enforce the 2020 Title IX rule. The July 2026 letter relies on those 2020 rules.
What the letter says schools must do
The letter points to several duties found in the 2020 rules and in federal law:
- In elementary and secondary schools, a district is on notice of sexual harassment when any school employee knows about it.
- Once on notice, the school must respond promptly and in a way that is not “deliberately indifferent.”
- The school must offer supportive measures to the student who was harmed.
- Referring a report to police or child protective services is not enough on its own. The school must still handle the matter under Title IX.
- Retaliation against a student or employee who reports is prohibited.
- Union contracts, state law and local policy cannot excuse a Title IX violation, including rules that delay an investigation or the removal of an employee while it goes forward.
The 2020 rules also say a school may not offer an informal resolution process to resolve allegations that an employee sexually harassed a student.
“Passing the trash” and the ESEA
The letter also covers a separate federal law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. One section, 20 U.S.C. § 7926, requires states and school districts that get these federal funds to have laws, rules or policies that bar helping a school employee get a new job when there is knowledge or probable cause to believe the person engaged in sexual misconduct with a student. This practice is often called “passing the trash.” The Department said it will increase its monitoring of these state measures.
The investigations
According to the Department, the 20 new investigations target districts whose 2023–24 Civil Rights Data Collection answers suggest they might not be handling staff-on-student sexual misconduct properly. The Department has not publicly named those districts in the materials reviewed for this article.
The letter also mentions an investigation the Department opened on May 5, 2026, into the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Department says it is examining a union agreement that, in its reading, requires teachers credibly accused of certain misconduct to be reassigned rather than removed from student-facing roles. Opening an investigation is not a finding. The Department has not announced any finding against the district.
What this means for survivors
This letter is about how the government enforces Title IX. A private lawsuit is different. In a lawsuit for money damages under Title IX, the U.S. Supreme Court has required proof that an official with authority to act knew of the abuse and was deliberately indifferent. Many survivors also have claims under state law, such as negligence, and those depend on each state’s rules. Deadlines vary a great deal by state, by the survivor’s age and by the type of school, and claims against public schools may need an early notice. A lawyer can review the facts and explain the options. You can read more about school sexual abuse claims and our wider sexual assault and abuse work.
This article is general information about how these cases work. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no two claims are alike. If something here sounds like your situation, the useful next step is a conversation about the facts.
