Joe Biden’s new Title IX was set to make its debut on Aug. 1. It’s winding its way through the courts where its enforcement has been blocked, at least temporarily, in 26 states. The policy expands federal Title IX civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students to provide what the Biden administration calls “protections for LGBTQ+ students.”
Since 1972, Title IX has stated that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. However, Biden's rule change redefines the word "sex" to include "gender identity” – paving the way for males who identify as females to compete on girls’ sports teams and be present in their dressing areas.
In a rapidly changing story, the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday temporarily blocked enforcement of the Department of Education’s rewrite of the 52-year-old law in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Injunctive relief for the plaintiffs came one day after a lower-court judge ruled the four states must enforce the new Title IX.
“This was a preliminary injunction for relief against having to enforce this rule before it is argued in court. This is really great news. They had a win for about 24 hours in the Biden administration, and now they are back on defense,” Meg Kilgannon, the Family Research Council’s senior fellow for Education Affairs, said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
In seeking to enact Title IX, the lower court was “creative in its effort to save this rule. We’ve seen a lot of creative legal strategies in this regard on Title IX,” Kilgannon told show host Tony Perkins.
In a separate lawsuit, a federal judge in Kansas in July barred enforcement of new Title IX at schools across the country who have students whose children are Mom’s for Liberty members. The number from that case currently reaches more than 2,000 schools in 45 states. It could grow as the Mom’s For Liberty sign-ups increase. (See related story)
“They are ignoring the fact that [the term] 'sex' at the time of Title IX originally taking effect … meant male or female. There was none of this other imagination on the definition of 'sex.' This is a big overstep by the Biden administration,” Kilgannon said.
The Department of Education is steadfast in its pursuit of implementation of its changes to Title IX, according to a statement from a department spokesperson to AFN this week:
“Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in a federally-funded educational environment. The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to realize the non-discrimination mandate of Title IX. The Department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, and we will continue to fight for every student. While the appeals of previous rulings are pending, we have asked the trial courts to allow the unchallenged provisions – the bulk of the final rule – to take effect in these states as scheduled on Aug. 1.”
Paris Games show danger of mixing genders in sports
While the fate of Title IX plays out in courts, the danger faced by biological females when forced to compete against males plays out on the highest stage of amateur competition – the Olympics.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was disqualified at the International Boxing Association’s 2023 World Champions, but Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, also disqualified by the IBA in 2023, were cleared to compete in the women’s division at the Paris Games just days ago.
Khelif’s smaller female opponent, Italy’s Angela Carini, walked to her corner and called off the fight after 46 seconds. “I’ve never been hit so hard in my life,” a tearful Carini told reporters.
X, formerly Twitter, was ablaze with condemnation of the International Olympic Committee Thursday.
British author J.K. Rowling, best known for her Harry Potter series, called the IOC a “misogynist sporting establishment” and blasted Khelif for “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”
“It’s a disgrace that the IOC allowed a man to participate in women’s boxing and beat a woman in the face on the Olympic stage,” former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley wrote.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a former Navy SEAL who wears a patch over his right eye, wrote: “Anyone with at least one good eye and common sense can see this wasn’t a fair fight. Forcing [Carini] to fight a competitor with inherent biological advantages was dangerous and immoral.”
Emanuele Renzini, Carini’s coach, said “all of Italy” had urged Carini not to fight, but Carini wanted to compete and did not plan ahead of time to quit the match, Fox News reported.
Court rulings don’t mean blanket protection
Kilgannon warned parents not to rest in response to common sense rulings in some courtrooms.
“Just because your school does not have to enforce this rule does not mean that they don’t already have a policy that is essentially this rule in your school – even in red states,” she said.
“There is a lot of relief from this rule, and that’s great; we are very happy to see that. Parents need to find out if their schools are already pursuing these kinds of policies. We hope the answer is no.”
