Gender-identity changes to Title IX get pushback from Republican states

Republican-controlled states are pushing back against newly modified Title IX rules. The Biden administration announced the expansion the week of April 15. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal money. It applies to schools and local and state educational agencies.

Last week, the Department of Education released new regulations under Title IX. The department expanded the current ban on discrimination based on sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

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The new rule also provides more protection to students who accuse others of sexual misconduct or harassment. Additionally, it rolls back due process rules for the accused put in place by former President Donald Trump.

However, the updates did not directly address the issue of transgender girls and women playing on women’s and girls’ sports teams.

The regulations clash with laws already on the books in many Republican-led states.

In a letter, Louisiana’s education chief told schools to ignore the new regulations. He stated they violate existing state laws.

Dr. Cade Brumley, Louisiana’s state superintendent of education, said the new rules would force schools to allow biological boys and men who identify as female to have access to women’s bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools or the school could face sanctions.

“The new rule could force educators to reference students by names and pronouns not consistent with their biological sex and also erode parent notification of such student desires,” he wrote in a letter to school districts.

Eleven states passed legislation barring trans girls or women from using female bathrooms in public schools.

Twenty-four other states, including Louisiana, also passed laws preventing trans student-athletes from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

The new Title IX rule directly opposes these state laws. It states separating people based on sex is unlawful when it harms a protected individual, “such as when it denies a transgender student access to a sex-separate facility or activity consistent with that student’s gender identity.”

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s top education official, sent out a letter to all superintendents across his state.

“I believe these rule changes are illegal and unconstitutional,” Walters wrote. “They violate the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedures Act, and longstanding civil rights protections for women and girls.”

Oklahoma’s Legislature is currently trying to pass a law to define the words “man” and “woman” by biological sex. Walters said Biden’s new Title IX regulations “would be in direct conflict.”

Republican-controlled states are gearing up for a legal battle. Several attorneys general and conservative groups threatened to sue the Biden administration over the new regulations.

However, no one has filed a lawsuit yet.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which is a conservative, Christian law group, released a statement about the new Title IX changes, saying in part: “The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, threatens student safety and privacy, and undermines fairness in women’s sports. It is a slap in the face to women and girls who have fought long and hard for equal opportunities.”

The new Title IX rule is set to take effect Aug. 1.