Our friends at SAVE, on behalf of the Title IX Network of which CHQ is a member, yesterday released a statement demanding that the Biden administration abandon its reckless Title IX plan.
The statement noted that on March 8, 2021 President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Education (DOE) to draft a new regulation redefining the meaning of sex to include “gender identity.” (1) The DOE issued a draft regulation on June 23, 2022 (2), but without explanation, missed two self-imposed deadlines to release the final version in May and October of 2023. (3)
At the conclusion of the initial May deadline former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told the Washington Examiner that current secretary Miguel Cardona should withdraw the proposed rule, which she said is "illegal and dangerous" and that thousands of people had made their displeasure with the regulatory proposal known.
"This proposal is anything but a 'compromise,'" DeVos said. "It’s a diversion intended to distract from their true goal: destroying women’s sports and installing radical gender theory as the law of the land. It takes a certain kind of brazenness to use Title IX, which was passed to protect educational and athletic opportunities for women and girls, to take those very opportunities away. Thankfully, tens of thousands of Americans saw it for what it was and raised their voices in opposition. The public comment period may be over, but the battle is just beginning."
In response the Biden proposal, attorneys general filed several lawsuits, and dozens of federal and state lawmakers voiced strong opposition to the Biden proposal (4).
The new regulation is feared to have far-reaching and harmful effects on due process for the falsely accused, free speech, gender transitioning of children, and parental rights (5).
In particular, the policy’s impact on women’s sports has sparked considerable debate. Over the past two years, public opinion has shifted away from support for transgender participation in women’s sports. The most recent Gallup poll found that 69% of Americans say that persons should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth sex. These numbers include pluralities of Republicans (93%), Independents (67%), and Democrats (48%). (6)
Opposition to the Title IX regulation has further accelerated in recent months.
First, presidential candidates Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Donald Trump issued calls for the abolition of the Department of Education (7).
In September, 59 organizations signed a letter calling for the resignation of Office for Civil Rights director Catherine Lhamon for repeated and willful violations of the U.S. Constitution: Article 1 regarding the legislative powers of Congress, the First Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment (8).
In November, Rep. Lisa McClain, chairwoman of the Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on Health Care, along with House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, sent a letter of concern to DOE Secretary Miguel Cardona. They wrote,
"The Committees are concerned that your efforts to gut due process protections for accused and accusing students, redefine 'sex discrimination' to include 'gender identity,' and otherwise abandon established regulations protecting women and girls are improperly motivated and destructive to American students.” (9)
On December 5, the House Oversight Committee convened a hearing on "The Importance of Protecting Female Athletics and Title IX." The hearing highlighted cases in which female athletes had been injured by their male-bodied competitors (10).
Here are the key takeaways from the “The Importance of Protecting Female Athletics and Title IX” hearing to examine the Biden Administration’s proposed rules that will alter Title IX and harm women and girls around the country:
The Biden Administration is seeking to drastically alter Title IX by redefining sex discrimination to include disparate treatment on the basis of “gender identity.”
* Title IX has ensured that women and girls have access to the same academic and athletic opportunities that were afforded to men and boys for 51 years.
* By redefining sex discrimination to include “gender identity” in regulation, the Biden Administration will be eradicating female-only sports, spaces, and scholarships at institutions receiving federal funding.
* “Under the proposed rule, women’s sports aren’t just for women. They’re for anyone who simply says they are a woman.” Riley Gaines, former University of Kentucky Collegiate Athlete and Independent Women’s Forum Ambassador, said during her opening testimony. “Let me be perfectly clear. A school that knowingly allows a male athlete to take a spot on a woman’s team or allows a male athlete to take the field in a woman’s game is denying a female student athletic opportunity. That is sex-based discrimination, and it violates Title IX, regardless of what the new regulations might say.”
Permitting biological males to compete in women’s sports is inherently unfair to women and girls throughout the country.
* Biological males competing in women’s sports is fundamentally unfair. Males have physiological advantages over women, including body size, greater muscle mass, increased lung capacity, larger hearts, and greater bone density. Even athletes of similar size, height, and wingspan exhibit performance disparities on the basis of sex.
* Ms. Sarah Perry, Senior Legal Fellow at the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation said, “Title IX made possible opportunities for women historically excluded from higher education, athletics, graduate school, scholarships, and more.” She continued, “If a self-declaration of womanhood and hormones are sufficient to open women’s sports to men, what after all was the point of the women’s liberation movement?”
* Ms. Kim Russell, Independent Women’s Forum Ambassador and Former Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach at Oberlin College said, “The Biden Administration is trying to effectively change the meaning and language of Title IX. If allowed, this will endanger women in sports and private spaces and take away opportunities from women in sports and academia. Never in a million years did I think I would be sitting here at 56 fighting to get back the rights that were given to women and girls 51 years ago.”
Allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports can put female athletes at risk of serious injury.
* Riley Gaines said,“…there is a place for everyone to play sports in this country. But unsafe, unfair, and discriminatory practices towards women must stop. Inclusion cannot be prioritized over safety and fairness.”
“Reckless” can be defined as actions taken without thinking or caring about the consequences. Accordingly, the Biden Administration’s proposal to revamp the Title IX law must be seen as reckless in the eyes of political candidates, federal and state lawmakers, and the American public.
Links:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/03/08/executive-order-on-guaranteeing-an-educational-environment-free-from-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-sex-including-sexual-orientation-or-gender-identity/
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-proposed-changes-title-ix-regulations-invites-public-comment
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/it-looks-like-we-won-t-have-final-title-6355975/
https://www.saveservices.org/2022-policy/lawmakers/
https://www.saveservices.org/2022-policy/network/
https://news.gallup.com/poll/507023/say-birth-gender-dictate-sports-participation.aspx
https://www.saveservices.org/2022-policy/abolish-doe/
https://www.saveservices.org/2023/09/59-groups-call-for-assistant-education-secretary-catherine-lhamon-to-resign-for-violating-oath-of-office/
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/house-republicans-press-cardona-influence-outside-title-ix
Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
Catherine Lhamon
Title IX regulation
Assistant Education Secretary Catherine Lhamon
Gender identity
definition of sex
definition of sexual harrassment
14th Amendment due process
Independent and impartial investigations
Unrestricted access to evidence
Right to a live hearing and cross-examination
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