Rescinding Portions of Department of State Title VI Regulations To Conform More Closely With the Statutory Text and To Implement Executive Order 14281

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of State 22 CFR Part 141 [Public Notice: 13049] RIN 1400-AG23 AGENCY: Department of State. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: By this rule, the Department of State (“Department”) amends its regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) to align its regulations with Title VI and, relatedly, to conform to Executive Order 14281 . DATES: The rule is effective on July 9, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Olowski, Office of Civil Rights, at 202-647-9295 or email socr_direct@state.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Executive Summary The Department is rescinding portions of its regulations promulgated pursuant to Title VI, 42 U.S.C. 2000d-1 , to more closely align them to the statute, which prohibits only intentionally discriminatory conduct, see 42 U.S.C. 2000d . There are serious statutory and constitutional concerns with the legality of the Department's current Title VI regulations because the current regulations go beyond intentional discrimination to additionally prohibit conduct having an unintentional disparate impact. This rule accordingly deletes those portions of the regulations, which are in considerable tension with the statute and Constitution. The rule's revisions also conform to Executive Order 14281 , Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, 90 FR 17537 (April 28, 2025). That Executive Order states that “[i]t is the policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparate-…