The Biden administration sent a letter to educators across the nation to warn them against discriminating against transgender people. The letter was released on the 49th anniversary of the implementation of Title IX.
The new policy from the Education Department forces schools to allow biological males into female sports and to allow for their use of girls’ showers, and all-female dormitories.
Title IX was created to provide equal opportunities for women and girls in education. The writer of the letter, Suzanne Goldberg, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education, explained to educators that “Title IX’s protection against sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Goldberg cited last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which determined that “it is impossible to discriminate against a person” because of their sexual orientation or gender identity “without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” In conjunction with the Bostock decision, Goldberg noted that one reason for the Title IX change is “the particular vulnerability of LGBTQI+ students and the often-overwhelming challenges these students face in education compared to their peers.”
“The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights works to ensure that Title IX’s mandate protects students in all aspects of their education, including recruitment, admissions and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; protections from sex-based harassment, which encompasses sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; discipline; equal access to classes and activities; and treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) students,” she said.
Goldberg further asserted that the “OCR will fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance from the department.”
In addition to the letter, a fact sheet highlighting multiple examples of discrimination based on gender identity and sexual identity that the OCR could investigate was provided. One example said that if a principal instructed a high school level transgender girl wanting to use the girl’s restroom to use the boy’s restroom, the principal’s actions would be considered discrimination under Title IX.
The new biden transgender rules are being challenged in court and are likely to reach the Supreme Court.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
