Title IX Enforcement Questions Rise After Cornell Case

Title IX enforcement is facing fresh scrutiny after allegations of a group sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity drew in a state special prosecutor, while federal officials have said little in public about the case. A New York Times review of government records found that federal resolutions of campus sexual misconduct cases have dropped sharply since President Donald Trump’s first term.

What Is Known About the Cornell Allegations

The woman, identified in court filings only as Jane Doe, says she was assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024. Reuters reported that she filed a civil lawsuit last month naming seven fraternity members, the Chi Phi fraternity, Cornell, a bar and her own sorority as defendants.

The claims are allegations, and they are being tested. Lawyers for two of the men have denied taking part in a sexual assault, according to the Associated Press. Cornell says it suspended the fraternity indefinitely and disciplined or expelled some students, but it has declined to share details, citing student privacy rules.

How New York Moved to Reopen the Case

The Tompkins County district attorney originally declined to bring charges in 2024. He said this week he would reopen the matter after new information appeared in the lawsuit. Then, on Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order naming Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor, the Associated Press reported. Hochul said she had lost faith in the local office’s ability to handle it.

James said her office would investigate “fully and fairly.” The order allows her to present evidence to a grand jury if warranted. Some lawmakers have also urged changes to state law to make cases involving intoxicated victims easier to prosecute.

Title IX Enforcement: What the Records Show

Title IX is the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools that receive federal money. It lets federal officials investigate how a university responds to sexual misconduct reports. The Times compared the Education Department’s public case database across two periods. In the first 20 months of Trump’s first term, the Office for Civil Rights resolved more than 150 harassment and violence cases. In the same stretch of his second term, the database lists one.

The database does not show open investigations, which is an important limit on the comparison. The Education Department’s spokeswoman, Julie Hartman, said the agency had resolved dozens of such cases, but she did not provide documents or explain why they are missing. The Times said it could not independently verify that claim.

The Justice Department’s role

The Justice Department also handles Title IX cases involving schools. In Trump’s first term it reached settlements with San Jose State University, Case Western Reserve University and several other institutions, according to the Times. The newspaper reports that the department has not produced similar agreements in the second term. A spokeswoman, Kiersten Pels, said the department does not generally confirm or deny investigations and that protecting women and girls remains a top priority.

What the president said

Asked about Cornell, Trump said, “I don’t know that much about it,” and added that he expected the school to act properly. Government officials have not said whether a federal Title IX review of Cornell is planned. Hartman called the situation “horrific” and said it should not be politicized.

Why the Federal Rules Keep Shifting

The Education Department published a final rule on Sept. 29 that formally removes the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX regulations and restores the earlier 2020 text, according to law firm Holland & Knight. Courts had already blocked the 2024 rule, and the department said it has not enforced it for more than a year and a half, K-12 Dive reported.

Supporters of the move say it gives Title IX enforcement a settled baseline. The National Women’s Law Center argues the 2020 framework significantly weakens protections for survivors of harassment and assault. Each of the last three administrations has rewritten or tried to rewrite these rules, and the Obama administration’s 2011 guidance, which Trump’s administration rescinded in 2017, was one of the earlier turning points.

The Times also reports that the administration has used Title IX mostly in recent investigations tied to transgender students and school sports. Educators and victims’ advocates told the newspaper that executive orders signed since January 2025 have led some schools to put less weight on sexual misconduct. Jody Shipper, a longtime Title IX consultant, said one university president asked her whether a Title IX coordinator was even needed.

Cornell’s Other Dealings With Washington

Cornell has faced separate federal pressure. The Times reports the Education Department opened two investigations in March 2025, one involving campus protests over the war in Gaza and one on admissions. In April, the administration identified $1 billion in research funding cuts. Cornell later reached a settlement that ended those inquiries.

Trump has commented on one part of the Cornell matter: the choice of James as special prosecutor. She faces federal mortgage and bank fraud charges, which she denies and calls politically motivated. Trump said whoever she investigates would not get “a fair shake.”

What Happens Next

The special prosecutor’s review is the main legal track for now, alongside the civil lawsuit. Whether Title IX enforcement will extend to Cornell, through an Education or Justice Department review, remains unanswered. Readers should treat the claims in the lawsuit as allegations until a court or prosecutor says otherwise.