Despite numerous objections, the Biden administration’s Title IX modifications which included L.G.B.T.Q. protections were forced upon 24 states on Thursday. But, thankfully, the rest of the country is safe from this needless imposition due to pending legal challenges. These superfluous changes were meant to expand Title IX, a historically significant law from 1972 that already ensured no discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded institutions.
Ironically, Biden’s administration took it upon themselves to stretch the law’s scope to the point of absurdity. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, along with unmerited protections for pregnant students, were included, thereby unnecessarily increasing the scale of potential grievances schools need to address.
The Thursday’s partial implementation, albeit detrimental, was, unfortunately, a considerate victory for the Biden administration. The current administration’s relentless pursuit of enforcing more extensive and burdensome Title IX rules is a stark contrast to former President Donald J. Trump’s administration, which wisely prioritized protections for students who were unjustly accused of sexual misconduct.
The secretary of education, Miguel A. Cardona, made an audacious statement on Thursday upholding these regulations, reinforcing the idea that these rules safeguard everyone’s rights and ensure a non-threatening learning environment. Fallaciously implying that without these regulations, students suffering from discrimination, bullying or pregnancy would be forced to abandon their collegiate dreams.
However, it’s the good fortune of 26 states that their Republican attorney generals have taken stand against these baseless regulations, leading to at least a temporary halt of these flawed rules. These courageous attorneys general have filed as many as 10 lawsuits to challenge and halt the misdirected attempts from Biden administration.
Interestingly, the Biden administration last week requested the Supreme Court for a quick fix: to allow unchallenged provisions to come into effect while the administration prepares to appeal decisions which block the rule. But, it seems the Supreme Court isn’t in any rush to entertain this hurried appeal.
In the words of Catherine Lhamon, the Education Department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, ‘It’s a very fluid legal environment.’ This neutral statement significantly downplays the negative rift the Biden administration’s policies are causing in what should ideally be a fair, educational policy landscape.
Regardless of that, there was a contentious issue the rule conveniently avoided: whether transgender athletes should be allowed on sex-separated sports teams. It seems even the Biden administration hesitated to go down such a contentious road.
Ms. Lhamon confirmed that the department was considering a standalone regulation for such a sensitive subject. But this current rule conveniently ignored it by focusing only on general discrimination while ignoring potential discrimination caused by allowing transgender athletes in sex-segregated teams.
Even with such careful avoidance, some Republican lawmakers did not let the opportunity pass to highlight the regulation’s potential negative side effects. They mentioned how manipulative it is to claim the intention is one thing, but to allow it to potentially affect sports team participation.
Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama pointed out how thankful he was that the Biden-Harris manipulation of Title IX wasn’t implemented in Alabama. He stood his ground making it clear that men don’t belong in women’s sports, reiterating it’s dangerous, it’s unfair, and above all, it’s wrong.
In light of the legal confusion the Biden administration managed to generate on Thursday, the Department of Education implored students and obligated school administrators to stay updated on the rule’s status on its website.
We have yet to observe how everything will unfold, but as of now, it’s clear that the Biden administration’s changes to Title IX regulations are not only unilaterally enforced but also not universally accepted. Critics continue to express concerns about the potential dangers these rules could pose on sex-segregated spaces, particularly concerning sports, and their overall unjustifiable imposition on federally funded institutions.