Politics

Biden Admin’s Title IX Rule May Force Schools To Allow Biological Men In Women’s Sports And Facilities

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Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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President Joe Biden’s administration released new Title IX regulations Tuesday that could force schools to allow biological men in women’s private facilities and sports.

The Department of Education (DOE) is proposing an extension of Title IX, a landmark civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools, that would apply to sexual orientation and gender identity. This proposal would force public schools to allow biological men to participate in women’s sports and access facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms in order to receive federal funding.

The rule would define sex-based discrimination to specifically include actions taken on the basis of “sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity.” It also requires a “streamline [of] administrative requirements” characterized by newly “adopting grievance procedures and record keeping” of sexual harassment claims.

The proposal will go through a two-month review process and comment period, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. Comments must be received by Sept. 12, 2022, according to the Federal Register.

The regulations would “define sex-based harassment to include but not be limited to sexual harassment; provide and clarify, as appropriate, definitions of various terms related to a recipient’s obligations to address sex discrimination, including sex-based harassment; clarify how a recipient is required to take action to end any sex discrimination that has occurred in its education program or activity, prevent its recurrence, and remedy its effects; and clarify a recipient’s obligations related to the grievance procedures and other necessary steps when it receives a complaint of sex discrimination,” the document said.

The document follows the department’s proposed changes announced in a June 23 press release. The regulations would “strengthen the framework, improve clarity for recipients to facilitate their compliance, and better align the Title IX regulations with the nondiscrimination mandate of Title IX,” the proposed rule says. (RELATED: Biden Admin Just Weeks Away From Extending Title IX To Trans Students: REPORT) 

These proposed changes followed Biden’s March 2021 executive order directing the DOE to review Title IX regulations implemented by former President Donald Trump’s administration. Those rules addressed the handling of sexual assault and harassment claims by colleges and universities.

Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for Parents Defending Education, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in June that these changes will cause women to lose protections guaranteed to them under Title IX.

“Title IX has always guaranteed single sex space restrooms, locker rooms, and interscholastic athletics. A shift from biological sex to gender identity means that girls and women will be forced to accept the presence of biological males in what have always been single-sex spaces,” she said. “It means that female students will be forced to use the same restroom as biologically male classmates and staff members, who identify as girls and women, and will likely be forced to compete in the same athletic events.”

The proposed revisions come as 18 states have currently passed legislation banning biological men from competing in women’s sports. These states include Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Utah.