President Joe Biden’s administration released a finalized rule on Friday that expands Title IX protection to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in any public school or university that receives federal funding, and in 2022 the administration unveiled a revised version that would extend prohibitions against “gender identity.” The administration’s new rule is the finalized version after months of review and public comment, and will go into effect on August 1, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).
“For more than 50 years, Title IX has promised an equal opportunity to learn and thrive in our nation’s schools free from sex discrimination,” Miguel Cardona, secretary of the DOE, said in a statement. “These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming, and respect their rights.”
The updated regulation prohibits schools from “preventing someone from participating in school (including in sex-separate activities) consistent with their gender identity,” excluding “sex-separate living facilities and sex-separate athletic teams.”
The rule does not address transgender athletes, despite previous efforts by the administration to include a provision barring schools from prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s and girl’s sports, according to the Associated Press. The administration is currently working on a separate rule that would prohibit schools from adopting a “one-size-fits-all policy” that allegedly discriminates against transgender athletes.
Nearly 25 states have enacted legislation restricting transgender athletes from female sports categories.
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