The Daily Signal was among the first news outlets to notice and report on an official notice from the U.S. Department of Education that came at the same time most people were busily celebrating Christmas. The withdrawal notice, scheduled for publication Dec. 26, was visible online Christmas Eve, according to the Signal story by Tyler O’Neil.
Citing public outcry in opposition, and ongoing litigation in the courts, the federal agency said it has “determined not to regulate on this issue at this time,” the notice states.
Numerous federal courts have blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine Title IX, a landmark bill passed in the 1970s to protect female athletes, and the U.S. Supreme court itself upheld lower court injunctions in a ruling that came down in August.
As far as public outcry, AFN reported in a 2022 story the Dept. of Education was swamped with opposition during a required public comment period.
After the number of comments opposing the new rule broke previous records, the federal agency mysteriously lost 160,000 of them due to a “clerical error.”
Steve McConkey, a former track athlete who leads 4 Winds USA, tells AFN nearly half the U.S. states had passed laws to defend women-only sports. Like athletes playing defense, he says, you can’t let your guard down against the radical Far Left.
“We have to keep our guard up,” he says, “because they'll double back some way.”
Citing polls done by Rasmussen and Gallup, public opposition to men competing against women is overwhelming, McConkey says. He believes the issue mattered to voters on Election Day, too, because the public knows Donald Trump would take action to reverse the radical plan to change Title IX.
Female athletes still fighting
Despite the retreat by the U.S. Dept. of Education, the legal and cultural fight is not over. A federal court in Connecticut is set to hear oral arguments next year in a lawsuit filed by four female athletes.
Rachel Rouleau, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, tells AFN the lawsuit will mark five years in February since the young women sued to fight their own state athletic association.
“We went back to the district court, and the officials tried to dismiss it once again, and thankfully the district court just ruled that the case should proceed,” she advises.
The transgender-defending policy is still in place and is allowing males to compete against females in the liberal state of Connecticut.
