Biden’s Title IX Protections are Being Blocked in Most States
The Biden administration’s new Title IX rules officially took effect on August 1. These rules protect students from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. However, court-issued preliminary injunctions in many red states are blocking these new rules. The Department of Education in roughly 26 states is not enforcing Title IX within their state’s borders. Legislation to protect LGBTQ+ youth has now become a scattered, legal mess.
First proposed in 2022, Title IX aims to prevent sex discrimination in education programs and other activities that receive federal funding. It allows trans students to use bathrooms and other gendered facilities that adhere to their gender identity. The new rules roll back an amendment from the Trump era which requires in-person hearings for allegations of sexual abuse. However, providing equal-access protections for trans student-athletes is where the legislation falls short. Title IX making dire efforts to protect the physical, mental, and emotional health of young LGBTQ+ folks.
These regulations are primarily blocked in states where Republicans hold the attorney general’s office. With the new school year beginning in the upcoming weeks, educators and Title IX coordinators are struggling to navigate these rulings and legalities. Instructors are unsure of their obligations, and aspects of these injunctions make the process difficult to both track and enforce. For example, in Kansas, the issued injunction blocks Title IX in the state, as well as in “any school attended by a member of Young America’s Foundation or Female Athletes United, as well as any school attended by a minor child of a member of Moms for Liberty.”
Some theorize that the Republican-led battle to destroy Title IX is part of a bigger scheme to overturn the Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. The latter established that LGBTQ+ employees are protected under federal workplace nondiscrimination law. Whether these injunctions stem from a greater agenda or not, the elimination of Title IX is a frightening thought. Safeguarding the rights of LGBTQ+ students is crucial in protecting our youth. A startling amount of trans youth live in anti-trans environments. Efforts such as these are important in ensuring the livelihoods of queer youth and preventing years of trauma.
