Tipsheet

Biden Administration's New Title IX Proposal Would 'Destroy' Women's Sports

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  April 08, 2023 7:00 AM

The Biden administration on Thursday proposed a new Title IX rule that would prohibit schools from enacting blanket bans on transgender athletes though certain limitations could be issued in the name of fairness or safety.

“The U.S. Department of Education (Department) proposes to amend its regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) to set out a standard that would govern a recipient’s adoption or application of sex-related criteria that would limit or deny a student’s eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity,” the Education Department wrote.

The rule would impact educational institutions that receive federal funding. 

“Every student should be able to have the full experience of attending school in America, including participating in athletics, free from discrimination,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement.

Parents Defending Education blasted the move. 

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“The Biden administration is trying to have their cake and eat it too: inject gender identity into athletics while placing the onus upon school districts to determine whether doing so would be problematic or not," Parents Defending Education President Nicole Neily said in a statement. 

“Without a doubt, institutions are going to err on the side of ‘inclusion,’ because they fear the wrath of the Education Department – thus, achieving the Department’s end goal while allowing them to maintain plausible deniability that they coerced districts into doing so," she added. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and many others also criticized the proposal. 

"This latest move by the Biden admin is anti-women," he said on Twitter. "Protecting women’s sports is essential, and Republicans will not let the admin dismantle Title IX."

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said the proposed changes "would completely undermine its original intent and make school activities and sports less safe," as Title IX was "enacted to protect girls."