Biden Admin. Withdraws Title IX Rule Forcing Men Into Women’s Sports

by Zachary Mettler | December 26, 2024 | Government Updates

This year, Christmas came early for the thousands of young women who play sports in schools and colleges across the nation.

On Friday, December 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education withdrew its proposed rule forcing schools to permit biological males into girls and women’s sports.

The DOE had released its proposed rule on April 13, 2023, seeking to force schools that receive federal funding to permit students “to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity.”

During the rulemaking process, the Department received 150,000 comments on the proposed rule, each of which it was required to review prior to issuing any final rule. It was also required to respond to significant areas of public concern.

But due to the flood of public comments and concerns, the DOE never issued a final rule, instead opting to withdraw the proposed regulation.

Explaining the Department’s decision, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said, “The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts.”

“In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time,” Secretary Cardona added.

This Department’s decision is a massive victory for women, common sense, and biological reality.

Though it’s no less tragic and galling that the U.S. Department of Education – with a budget of over $238 billion annually – ever attempted to force thousands of women to risk their health and safety to compete against males.

The idea was ridiculous on its face.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Strategy Jonathan Scruggs issued a statement following the Department’s announcement.

“Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field, and the U.S. Department of Education has taken a step in the right direction by withdrawing this proposed change,” Scruggs said, adding,

As the withdrawal admitted, many Americans voiced their opposition to the rule change and there are many pending lawsuits related to protecting women’s sports. … The decision to withdraw the proposed sports rule merely reflects the views of the vast majority of Americans who believe that women’s sports should remain reserved for female athletes.

However, Scruggs pointed out that “the fight to protect women’s sports from gender ideology is far from over.”

Indeed, the Biden administration is currently attempting to force schools to permit males into girls and women’s sports through a separate, but related rule, the “Final Rule under Title IX,” which the administration has not withdrawn.

Scruggs said,

The Biden administration has attempted to insert gender ideology into Title IX by its general Title IX rule adopted earlier this year, the Biden administration has repeatedly told courts that Title IX alone requires schools to admit men into women’s sports, and activist groups across the country have filed numerous lawsuits to force females to compete against males. …

So, while today represents a victory, there is still much work left to do to ensure women have fair play and equal opportunity in athletics.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Linda McMahon, to lead the Department of Education in his second term.

If she is confirmed, McMahon has promised to make good on the president-elect’s desire of “sending Education back to the states.”

In a statement announcing her as his choice for Secretary of Education, Trump said McMahon will “fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families. … We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

Hopefully, if McMahon is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she will also reverse the Department’s Final Rule mandating schools permit males into women’s locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports.

The protection and true advancement of women’s rights, and the protection of reality itself, demands nothing less.

Related articles and resources:

Appeals Courts Affirm Rulings Stopping the DOE’s Rewrite of Title IX

Third Court Halts DOE’s Title IX Rewrite, Girls’ Sports & Spaces Preserved

Second Federal Court Halts DOE’s Title IX Rewrite – Protecting Girls’ Sports & Spaces

Court Rules Against DOE’s Title IX Rewrite, Saving Women’s Sports & Spaces – For Now

Gov. Sanders’ Powerful Speech Defending Girls’ Sports: ‘We Will Not Comply’

Title IX Redefinition of ‘Sex’ Faces Defiance and a Flood of Lawsuits

Florida and Oklahoma Reject Biden Admin’s Rule Letting Men into Women’s Bathrooms and Sports

New Biden Admin. Rule Lets Men into Women’s Locker Rooms, Bathrooms and Sports

Photo from Getty Images.