Republican Senators Challenge Biden’s Title IX Transgender Student Protections

More than two dozen Senate Republicans on Wednesday endorsed an effort to repeal a Biden administration rule that strengthens federal anti-discrimination protections for transgender students.

The Education Department in April unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prevents sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding. The new rule covers discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time, an addition praised by LGBTQ rights advocates and criticized by conservatives.

The administration’s Title IX overhaul would also strengthen anti-discrimination protections for pregnant students and make changes to how schools handle sexual misconduct complaints.

A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday blocked the Biden administration’s changes from taking effect later this summer. Judge Reed O’Connor, in his ruling, accused President Biden and the Department of Education of promoting “an agenda entirely divorced from the text, structure, and contemporary context of Title IX.”

Lawsuits challenging the new regulations have emerged across the country, particularly in conservative jurisdictions.

On Wednesday, 35 Senate Republicans co-sponsored a resolution of disapproval seeking to reverse the new rule, after more than 60 House Republicans introduced an identical resolution last week.

“President Biden’s Title IX regulation stretches the law beyond reason, ignores basic biological facts, and infringes on the rights of parents and teachers,” said Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who is leading the joint resolution on Senate. , said Wednesday in a statement.

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

Senators said Wednesday that their opposition to the latest update to Title IX revolves around concerns that the new regulations will allow transgender women and girls to compete on girls’ school sports teams, invalidating laws passed in 24 states that ban student-athletes. transgender people to compete according to their gender identity.

Enforcement of at least four of these laws – in Arizona, Idaho, West Virginia and Utah – is blocked by federal court orders, according to the Movement Advancement Projecta non-profit organization that monitors LGBTQ laws.

However, 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.

Senate Republicans added Wednesday that the resolution of disapproval is a response to concerns that the administration’s Title IX changes threaten free speech and undermine due process protections for students accused of sexual harassment. . Title IX regulations instituted in 2020 by former President Trump strengthened the rights of individuals accused of misconduct.

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 government funding. Trump promised last month to reverse the Biden administration’s rule “on day one” of his presidency if he is re-elected in November.

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