Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said during an interview at Howard University that expansions to Title IX to permit male athletes in female sports are necessary to protect kids from “elected bullies,” NBC4 Washington reported on Wednesday.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits federally funded schools from discriminating on the basis of sex, but a new proposal released by the Biden administration in June 2022 would broaden its scope to include transgender students and prohibit schools from enforcing a “categorical ban” on transgender athletes, according to the Department of Education (DOE) website. More than two dozen states have enacted laws or policies that prohibit athletes from competing on teams that do not align with their biological sex, which Cardona said during the interview is a form of bullying, according to NBC4 Washington. (RELATED: Half Of US Governors Demands Biden Admin Withdraw Proposal That Would Make Schools Let Males Into Female Sports)
“The Title IX proposed rule: I want to make sure all kids can go to school free from discrimination, period,” Cardona said. “We have elected bullies right now going after kids. Look, it’s not a black-and-white issue: It’s very difficult; it’s very nuanced — and our proposal just ensures that all students have a fair shake.”
The proposal concluded its public comment phase on Monday during which proponents and critics submitted more than 130,000 comments to express their opinions of the ruling, NBC4 Washington reported. Those opposed to the proposal allege that it will negatively impact safety and fairness to female students.
As we mark #TitleIXAt50 today, here are six #TitleIX changes ED is proposing to ensure federally funded education programs & activities are free from ALL forms of sex discrimination: [🧵⬇️] pic.twitter.com/C9w4QAKEOj
— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) June 23, 2022
“I don’t want to go too much in the weeds of where it’s going to end up,” Cardona said during the interview. “But we’re asking for input on what folks think we should be considering. Part of the flexibility is ensuring that we have input from athletic councils…[and] the NCAA, which oversees college sports. We want to listen to their input to see what they think could be done, to make sure that all students are protected and all students have access to sports.”
The DOE released additional guidance in April about how the proposed rule would apply to athletics. While schools could not enforce a complete ban, the guidance suggests that exceptions could be made considering the level of competition and age of the athletes.
“We’re taking into account the students who are transgender, but we’re also taking into account perspectives of our students who are competing and are concerned that they might not be able to compete because of the rules,” Cardona said. “All students should be able to connect in all parts of public schools and athletics, extracurricular activities. Those are part of the experience.”
The DOE did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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