In April, the Department of Education announced a proposed regulation to change Title IX so that students can compete based on their “gender identity,” rather than their embodied maleness or femaleness.
You can speak out against this egregious proposal, but the deadline for doing so is Monday, May 15.
According to the agency:
The proposed rule would apply to public K-12 schools, as well as colleges, universities, and other institutions that receive federal funding …
Under the proposed regulation, schools would not be permitted to adopt or apply a one-size-fits-all policy that categorically bans transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity.
The rule offers two exclusions. If a school does not allow gender confused boys to compete as girls, it must prove that it is excluding them for safety reasons or to “serve important educational objectives.”
Heritage Action for America explains that the “physical safety standard” is wrong and unfeasible:
This is a false standard that puts girls on defense, making them justify the existence of their own sports and places. Young female athletes will be forced to advocate with their schools and with the federal government for their own safety and equal educational opportunity.
[The] regulation creates an almost unclearable hurdle—for every women’s sport, every school will be forced to demonstrate the risk of a “sports related injury” to females in order to prevent the participation of males. This is a mountain of bureaucratic paperwork for each and every school. Rather than providing “needed clarity” to Title IX as the Department of Education claims, it further muddies the waters on women’s sports (their emphasis).
Opponents of the rule still have a short period of time where they can weigh in and tell the Department of Education, “Stop!”
Several Focus on the Family allies – Heritage Action for America, Family Policy Alliance and Concerned Women for America – have webpages making it simple for concerned citizens to send a comment opposing the proposal to the DOE.
Again, the deadline for public comments is Monday, May 15.
Concerned Women for America explains some of the consequences if this rule is enacted:
- Female athletes will no longer have equal rights to female-only sports teams – instead of protecting women, the rule requires schools to “minimize harms” to males identifying as women.
- In elementary and middle school, teams limited to girls only are essentially banned.
- In high school and college, female athletes must prove they are harmed before any trans-identifying male is kept out of their sport and locker room.
- For any sport, at every age and level of competition, schools must prove an “important educational objective” before restricting any trans-identifying male from a female team.
The rule attempts to defy reality, disregarding the truth that boys and girls are different, just as men and women are different, down to the cellular level. Athletics is one area where those distinctions can be seen most clearly.
Title IX was enacted to create opportunities for girls and women in education – not take those opportunities away and give them to boys and men. Tell the Department of Education, “NO,” to this extreme rule that flies in the face of truth and common sense.
Take Action:
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
Related articles:
Groups Rally to ‘Stop the Title IX Take-Over’ – You Too Can Speak Out on This Important Issue
House Passes Bill to Protect Girls and Women’s Sports
On 50th Anniversary of Title IX, Groups Fight to Protect Women’s Sports
Pro-family Groups Warn Department of Education Not to Ruin Women’s Sports
