More on the recent Title IX developments:

Greg at Sports Law Blog says "bring on the debate." He goes on to offer some good, neutral thoughts.

Inside Higher Ed calls it a "big change" and notes that it was made "without hearings or publicity."

Kathy Kiely at USA Today got a quote from someone at DOE, who downplayed the significance of the new rules. "This is simply an additional clarification. This is not a new way of doing business," said James Manning. "We're trying to help schools."

As I said yesterday, I really don't know much about Title IX (and I'd love to hear from people who do). It's possible that the new guidelines really don't change much. It's also possible that they are a big deal, but the DOE is lying so it can bury the story and avoid any public opposition.

The fact that conservatives and anti-feminists around the country are cheering the change as a substantial victory lends some support to the latter hypothesis. Of course, people cheer symbolic victories as well as substantive ones.

UPDATE: Helen points to the WSF's page for a bunch of position papers and other info. Sue has a reminder about what life was like before Title IX.