For John Brun, going to college was transformative. The 20-year-old grew up in a conservative Christian household in northern Kentucky and came out to his family as gay his junior year in high school. 

After graduating he enrolled at Northern Kentucky University, a public college near the Ohio border. There, he found community and acceptance he’d never felt before. He eventually became the president of a club for queer students. 

The Biden administration's new anti-discrimination protections that became law on Thursday are designed to protect students like him. But court battles have fractured those efforts, leaving K-12 schools and colleges nationwide in flux.

The Education Department’s revisions to Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools that receive federal funding, marked the first time the statute will grant explicit safeguards for queer and transgender students and school staff.

The new guidance was also crafted to bolster the rights of victims of sexual misconduct and pregnant or parenting students. The law was passed in 1972 to protect women and girls from sex-based discrimination in schools – guaranteeing equal access to academic and athletic programs.

As the new version became official Thursday, one thing was clear: the revised law won't be in effect for everyone. Kentucky, where Brun attends college, is among more than half of U.S. states where the new rules have been stalled by legal challenges, prompted by opponents of civil rights for LGBTQ+ students. In states where the new rules are in effect, the lack of clarity and consistency nationwide has created anxiety for students headed back to school.

The legal wrangling has resulted in a patchwork of standards, with some schools still abiding by Trump-era rules, while others operate under Biden-era regulations. 

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What's the controversy over Title IX?

In April, the Biden administration released its long-awaited revision of Title IX. At the time, the U.S. Department of Education told school leaders to prepare to work under the new guidelines beginning Aug. 1. 

Then came a surge of anger and legal filings. Republican attorneys general and far-right parent groups sued the Biden administration in a flurry of challenges, accusing the federal government of overstepping its authority. Parents from the anti-LGBTQ+ organization Moms for Liberty said the federal government was pushing parents out of the classroom and imposing “gender ideology” on their children. 

The revised Biden administration rules are now blocked in more than half of U.S. states, and conservative groups have argued the court orders should also prevent the law from taking effect at hundreds of colleges and thousands of K-12 schools. Earlier this month, the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to refine the scope of related court orders, restricting what's in dispute to the rules that offer new protections for transgender students. 

In the meantime, school officials are scrambling to understand which portions of the regulations apply in their states. Some students feel let down. And as court battles rage on, the uncertainty about how the federal government expects schools to enforce the new guidance and whether the most vulnerable students will be protected under it may linger.

Some students 'devastated, frustrated and honestly confused'

After "long days and countless hours'' pressuring the Biden administration to reverse the old rules, student advocates and survivors are "devastated, frustrated and honestly confused,” said Andrew Echols, the executive director of the Every Voice Coalition, an advocacy group for student survivors of sexual assault and harassment. The group signed a joint letter in October urging the administration to make swift changes to the previous regulations.

"Reading and holding the text of the new regulations was an indescribable feeling" after all that work, Echols said, "but it also came with the feeling of impending doom, knowing legal action would be coming." 

That doom is now a reality, with some students saying they'd be hesitant to file a complaint if they experienced sexual harassment or violence, Echols said. At the same time, he said, students at schools and in states where the new rules are in place are more enthusiastic about pushing their cases forward.

What students and administrators should know about Title IX

Beginning Thursday, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools will apply differently depending on where you live and attend school.

Updated Biden administration rules:Will soon affect students across US

The Trump-era Title IX regulations, which made it tougher for students and school staff to prove allegations of sex-based misconduct, will remain in effect in more than two dozen states – Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming – where litigants posed challenges.

The law as it will be enforced in those states will not include the robust new safeguards for LGBTQ+ and pregnant and parenting students, nor does it expand the definition of sexual assault.

Students confused about which regulations apply in their cases should consult a confidential Title IX advocate on their campus, Echols said. And school administrators should take the initiative to learn what Title IX looks like on their campuses and be prepared for students’ questions this fall, according to Tracey Vitchers, the executive director of It’s On Us, a national nonprofit focused on preventing sexual violence on campuses.

Any lack of clarity “will only make our students more vulnerable to sexual violence,” Vitchers said in an email to USA TODAY.

Last week, the Education Department offered guidance for school districts affected by the new regulations. The agency advised schools to update their nondiscrimination policies and ensure accommodations are in place for students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The instructions do not apply in states where the Biden administration guidance is blocked.

Supreme court decision looms, Title IX revisions in limbo

In June, a federal judge in Kentucky banned the updated law in six states, opening his court order with the phrase: “There are two sexes: male and female.” The Kentucky judge's decision was one of several preliminary injunctions ordered in recent weeks to halt parts of the regulations. Another came Wednesday night.

In July, a federal judge in Kansas prohibited any school attended by the children of Moms for Liberty members from abiding by the latest version of the rules. Many of these schools are in states, such as California and New York, where the Biden administration's new rules are simultaneously in effect.

The far-right group has been calling on parents who oppose the regulations to join their ranks and include their schools on the growing list of campuses banned from enforcing them.

The Biden administration urged the Supreme Court last month to partially strike down the lower-court injunctions blocking portions of the new rules. The Justice Department asked the high court justices to halt two preliminary injunctions, the Kentucky ruling and one in Louisiana. In a court filing, Biden administration officials said that denying the request to narrow the scope of the bans would “cause direct, irreparable harm to the United States and the public.” 

It’s unclear when the court might hand down a decision.

House moves to blockBiden's Title IX rule

In the meantime, James Renton, a friend of Brun’s at Northern Kentucky University, said they're disappointed the new Title IX regulations didn't take effect in their state Thursday. But Renton, who uses they/he pronouns, said they’re used to having to fight for their rights. 

They spent much of this year lobbying against a state bill that would have abolished LGBTQ+ student groups at public colleges. Renton’s club for queer men and nonbinary students was one of many at the school that would’ve been on the chopping block. 

 “It’s an annual battle here in Kentucky,” they said.

Contributing: USA TODAY data and graphics reporter Sara Chernikoff

Contact Zachary Schermele by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele. Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.