Biden’s Title IX Rules Can Ban Transgender Athletes from Participating in School Sports

The Biden administration has proposed new regulations that would ban schools from banning trans athletes from playing sports altogether, but would allow schools to ban some trans athletes from participating in competitive high school and college sports.

The proposal met with different reactions from trans activists and Republican lawmakers, and the Supreme Court ruled that a 12-year-old trans girl would continue to compete in track and field and cross-country competitions as a challenge to the West Virginia ban, which set it apart from the court.

As the country considers blocking trans athletes from participating in school sports, these bans are challenged in court – the Education Department said its purpose is to provide clarity for schools and families, highlighting that the blanket ban on trans student-athletes will endanger institutions and education programs and receive federal funding under Title IX to prevent gender discrimination.

The education department said the reasoning behind the proposed changes to Title IX regulations is “develop team qualification standards that are important educational goals such as ensuring fairness in competition or preventing sports-related injuries.”

The criteria used to determine the qualification of trans athletes will vary by sports, competition and education level, but regulations say they should “minimize the harm to trans students”.

But transgender advocates say that while the guidance may be well-intentioned, it does not work enough to ensure protection for trans students seeking to participate in school sports, especially because 20 states impose bans on trans athletes.

Erin Reed, a DC-based transgender activist and journalist in Washington, D.C., tracked anti-transaction legislation and said she was shocked by the regulations.

“Schools will look at these regulations and they will see that if it has an ‘educational purpose’ and it minimizes the harm to trans students, they will allow the ban,” Reed told BuzzFeed News. “Essentially…it provides a script for how to create the ban and still comply with the law.”

The guide says it is difficult for schools to justify excluding primary school students. But when it comes to trans students at high school and college levels, Reid said the language of the proposed rules does not explicitly state whether schools are non-compliant to discriminate against them.

“I think the most frustrating part is by leaving those who are not working behind [Biden is] Leaving the open door, he kind of praised the right-wing conversation points,” Reed said. [Republicans] Catching is where he acknowledges the ground. It will feel like betrayal. ”

The department notes that schools can use documents such as birth certificates or driver’s licenses and require physical or medical examinations related to the student’s gender to “restrict or deny students’ eligibility to participate in a consistent with their gender identity.”

Reed fears that such standards can open the door to invasion of privacy. Respond to the attention of Kansas advocatesdespite the governor’s veto, Republican lawmakers have pushed for the ban on trans students in the women and girls movement.

“I think it’s a hassle, and it’s going to be a big deal for states like Kansas to try to do genital checks for sports,” Reed said. “I think the document fails to do anything. It hurts more than it helps trans people.”

Other transgender advocates are similarly related to how the proposed rules are implemented.

Glsen executive director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers told BuzzFeed News in a statement that the eligibility criteria “cannot be based on junk science or paranoia and must be legally intended.”

“This should mean that no trans, non-binary or bisexual students are deprived of their chances of participating in school sports, but we can’t expect good actors in aggravated anti-perverted political attacks,” they said.

At a Thursday press conference, reporters ask How the Education Department will address the enforcement of this rule by states that have been banned across athletes.

“Federal civil rights law is the law of land,” a senior department official told reporters. “In unlikely, the school board refused to comply with the law, and the tool the department owns is to initiate seizure funds and ensure that no federal funds are spent to discriminate against students.”

The department also nodded to the NCAA’s sports policy as an example of how trans athletes are included, but one official said the department did not stand on the association’s policy.

Earlier Thursday, at a White House press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed the horrible status of LGBTQ rights in the country. “This is one of the worst weeks of 2023 so far,” she said, adding, “We have their support, and this government has their support.”

The release of the proposed rule changes Thursday also sparked harsh criticism from congressional Republican lawmakers who believe the Biden administration explicitly accepts that transgender athletes threaten women’s sports and broader Title IX protections in school sports.

Andrew Clyde, Republican Representative of Georgia Tweets. “Tag my words: I will fight this awakened nonsense through the appropriation process.”

Senator Marsha Blackburn told Fox News that Democrats are providing protection for women. “The left is definitely going to deprive them of a fair chance of playing,” she said.

The regulation will open public comments within 30 days, and the department plans to complete the rules by May.