On Friday, the Biden administration released its new Title IX regulations, and its strictures engendered anger and outrage for those defending traditional values.
The document, which runs over 1,500 pages, states that the Department of Education “disagrees with the contention that including sexual orientation and gender identity in the scope of §106.10 harms women. Recognizing these bases of sex discrimination under Title IX in no way lessens the force of Title IX’s protections against discrimination that limits educational opportunities for girls and women. Further, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is typically motivated by the same sex stereotypes that limit opportunities for women regardless of whether they identify as LGBTQI+.”
The DOE also insisted that the rules apply to elementary schools as well: “The Department appreciates the opportunity to correct the misunderstanding that Title IX is limited to postsecondary institutions. As recipients of Federal financial assistance, elementary schools and secondary schools are also subject to Title IX and its regulations.”
A summary of the major provision stated that the 2024 Final Rule “clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
Former Senior Counsel at the U.S. Department of Education Sarah Parshall Perry, now working at the Heritage Foundation, reacted:
Title IX—which was enacted to protect women and girls and provide them equal educational opportunities—has been manipulated so that gender activists and woke politicos can feel good about themselves. Under the new rule, girls and women will no longer have any sex-separated bathrooms, locker rooms, housing accommodations, or other educational programs. Women’s sports are likely endangered too. Any education institution, including many private schools that receive even nominal federal funding, will be affected by this rule.
The rule also erases other important protections, like due process protections for students accused of sexual misconduct, free speech protections for students and teachers who don’t want to use ‘preferred pronouns,’ and parents’ right to know if their child is in the process of a gender identity ‘social transition’ at school.
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Nicole Neily, President of Parents Defending Education, also responded to the new regulations:
It is grotesque that the White House has chosen to capitulate to extremists in his party, sacrificing the First Amendment on the altar of Title IX and disregarding clearly established Supreme Court precedent on the definition of sexual harassment. Extending Title IX to cover gender identity means that schools will no longer have discretion over whether – or how – to provide certain services and activities to students on the basis of self-declared gender identity.
Title IX was written in 1972 when “sex” meant male and female, and no amount of interpretive jiujitsu permits a cabinet agency to rewrite the plain language of the law. Efforts to do so have failed repeatedly in Congress for one simple reason: such an expansion of law is deeply unpopular, with opposition to these changes spanning both political and racial lines. This betrayal of students will not soon be forgotten by American parents, and we look forward to suing the Administration over this policy soon.