WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Education launched a sweeping series of actions last week that touch nearly every corner of the nation’s education system, opening Title IX investigations into school sports policies, restructuring how federal education and workforce programs are administered, and delaying involuntary collections on federal student loans as new repayment rules are rolled out.
On January 14, the department’s Office for Civil Rights initiated investigations into 18 educational entities across 10 states, responding to complaints that allege violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The complaints assert that the entities — ranging from K-12 school districts to colleges and state education agencies — discriminate on the basis of sex by allowing students to participate in sports based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
The investigations come as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the future scope of Title IX. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the Trump Administration has made clear that it considers alleged violations of women’s rights in athletics unacceptable and pledged a thorough review of each complaint.
Among the entities under investigation are school districts and institutions in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington, including Great Valley School District in Pennsylvania and the New York City Department of Education.
A day later, on January 15, the Departments of Education and Labor announced a major step toward integrating federal postsecondary education and workforce development programs. Beginning the week of January 20, staff from the Education Department’s Higher Education Programs Division will be detailed to the Labor Department as part of an interagency partnership designed to better coordinate grants, payments and oversight.
Under the plan, higher education program grantees will transition to the Labor Department’s Grant Solutions and Payment Management System, aligning administrative systems across education and workforce programs. Education officials said the move is intended to reduce fragmentation, improve accountability and better align postsecondary education with labor market needs.
Education and Labor leaders framed the partnership as part of a broader effort to reshape federal involvement in higher education, emphasizing career readiness, industry-driven training and closer coordination between classrooms and employers.
On January 16, the Education Department announced it will temporarily delay involuntary collections on federal student loans, including administrative wage garnishment and the Treasury Offset Program. The pause is intended to give the department time to implement major repayment changes under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
Those changes include simplifying federal loan repayment options, creating a new income-driven repayment plan that waives unpaid interest for borrowers who make on-time payments that do not cover accrued interest, and allowing small matching payments from the department in certain cases to ensure principal balances decline. The new income-driven plan is scheduled to become available July 1, 2026.
The law also allows borrowers a second opportunity to rehabilitate defaulted loans — a change from prior rules that permitted only one rehabilitation. Department officials said the delay in collections will give defaulted borrowers additional time to evaluate their options and begin the rehabilitation process.
Education officials acknowledged that student loan defaults will continue to be reported to credit agencies during the pause, which can negatively affect borrowers’ credit, but said the delay is meant to support a more orderly transition to the new repayment system.
Taken together, the announcements reflect an aggressive federal posture on civil rights enforcement, workforce alignment and student loan policy, signaling a period of significant change for schools, colleges and borrowers nationwide.
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