Republicans seek to roll back new protections for transgender students

More than 60 House Republicans are challenging a Biden administration rule that expands federal anti-discrimination protections for transgender students.

The Education Department in April unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the civil rights law that prevents sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding. The new rule, which is set to take effect on August 1, covers discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time, angering some on the right who say the government’s interpretation of the decades-old law degrades existing protections. for women and girls.

The administration’s Title IX overhaul would also strengthen anti-discrimination protections for pregnant students and change how schools handle complaints of sexual harassment and assault.

At least 65 House Republicans on Wednesday signed a resolution of disapproval that seeks to reverse the new rule, which they say conflicts with the original purpose of Title IX.

“This disagreement is a flagrant violation of the protections that Title IX is supposed to guarantee and undermines the very foundations of women’s rights and safety in their private spaces,” Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), who leads the joint resolution movement, he said in a press release.

The Department of Education declined to comment on the joint resolution, saying it does not comment on pending legislation.

“The Department developed the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to give full effect to Title IX’s statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally funded education,” said a Department of Education spokesperson.

Although Title IX is a federal law, each administration takes a different approach to enforcing its regulations, which schools are then required to follow as a condition of receiving federal funding. Former President Trump said last month that he would reverse the Biden administration’s rule “on day one” of his presidency if he were reelected in November.

Republican governors, attorneys general and education officials in states across the country have vowed to reject the Biden administration’s interpretation, and school districts have been instructed to ignore the law’s expanded protections for transgender students despite the risk to government funding. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) in May threatened legal action against the Biden administration “for any financial loss, including funding” coming from school districts that refuse to implement the new rule.

Lawsuits filed by more than 20 Republican-led states allege that the administration’s Title IX rule undermines federal non-discrimination protections for students who are not transgender and incorrectly applies the reasoning of a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that protects employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to the Title. IX.

It is hoped that the lawsuits, most of which are filed in conservative jurisdictions, will succeed in blocking, at least temporarily, the entry into force of the new regulations this summer.

The Biden administration has not yet finalized a separate rule governing athletics eligibility. The proposal put forward by the Department of Education last year would prohibit schools from enacting policies that categorically ban transgender student-athletes from sports teams that match their gender identity, with some exceptions.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chairman of the Congressional Equality Caucus, criticized House Republicans’ resolution Wednesday as a “vicious continuation” of GOP-led attacks on the LGBTQ community.

“Biden’s rollback of the Title IX rule will harm the Department of Education’s ability to protect LGBTQI+ students, pregnant women, and parents from discrimination and support survivors of sexual violence,” Pocan told The Hill in an emailed statement. “You expect bullying at school, but once again, House Republicans are suppressing and trying to stigmatize LGBTQI+ students and other minorities by repealing these critical anti-discrimination protections.”

House Republicans of this Congress have presented more than 70 resolutions of disapproval that aim to reverse the rules instituted by the Biden administration, although only seven were approved in the House and only five were sent to President Biden, who vetoed them.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story