“Turning something upside-down elicits a reversal of content and pointing a steeple into the ground directs it to hell as opposed to heaven.” – Dennis Oppenheim
In 1972, Title IX was enacted to ensure all students equal educational and athletic opportunities in federally funded educational activities regardless of their sex. With few exceptions, it states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…”
On March 8, 2021, to advance gender equity and equality, President Biden issued Executive Order 14020 which worked to establish a White House Gender Policy Council consisting of two designated chairs, all 15 federal cabinet secretaries, and other agency members. This action preceded the Department of Education’s new Title IX proposal drawn up in June of 2022, and President Biden’s 1577-page Unofficial Guidelines for Title IX finalized and released by the Department of Education in April of 2024. The new guidelines, scheduled to go into effect nationwide on August 1, 2024, expand the definition of sexual discrimination to include sexual stereotypes, sexual characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy and related conditions for students and employees.
Under Title IX schools receiving federal funding are required to invest in women’s sports teams and support women athletes. The positive impact the original ruling has had on women and girls cannot be overstated. Forty percent of today’s college athletes are female. As per the New York Times, “girls’ participation in sports leads to increases in women’s education and employment rates and decreases in women’s obesity rates (Tara Parker-Pope, 2010). At present, 200,000 more college women and 3 million more high school girls participate in sports annually. Ninety four percent of women in C-suite positions are former athletes, and 80% of female Fortune 500 executives played competitive sports.
Biden’s Title IX re-write has sparked an outburst of controversy. Those opposed to it argue the redefined regulations turn the 52-year-old law upside down and renders it contrary to its original purpose by giving a biological advantage to transgender females and creating an unfair playing field. There is a men’s division and women’s division in almost all levels of sports for a reason. The science is conclusive; males have a physical advantage over females in athletics. They have greater height and weight, and larger, longer, stronger bones and muscles. They can subsequently throw, kick, and hit harder, run faster, and jump higher than females. Performance gaps continue to exist when males receive cross sex hormones to lower their testosterone levels. The best female athletes are losing championships to transgender females.
In a 2024 article he wrote for National Affairs, Shep Melnick, Professor of American Politics at Boston College concluded, “…the purpose of the law has been perverted by bureaucrats – and by the current President of the United States – to impose a social and cultural revolution upon the American People” (National Affairs, 2024). As stated by Illinois Congresswoman Mary Miller who introduced a bill to reverse Biden’s Title IX changes signed by 70 GOP,
“Joe Biden is undermining years of progress women have made in securing their rights under Title IX. For more than half a century, Title IX has protected women and girls, ensuring they have equal opportunities in education. However, the Biden Administration is putting our girls at risk by allowing men to access women and girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. This divergence is a blatant violation of the protections Title IX was meant to guarantee, and it undermines the very foundation of women’s rights and security in their private spaces.” (Miller, 2024)
Biden’s authoritarian Title IX rewrite is not about non-discrimination, it is about forcing woke ideology on the American people and dividing us as a nation. The new rule will enshrine “gender identity” as a student choice stripping parents of the fundamental right to make medical decisions based on scientific evidence, and to teach their children morals consistent with their religious values. It will deprive women and girls of educational opportunities and put them at a higher risk for physical injury. It will make it mandatory for public schools to teach gender identity curriculum to children in kindergarten without parental consent. It will force certain speech and girls opposed to having biological males on their teams, in their locker rooms, and in their bathrooms will face social stigma and legal repercussions denying them the right to free speech.
The good news is that opposition is mounting nationwide. Twenty-six states, Moms for Liberty, and other grassroots organizations are suing to block the proposed changes to the law. Thus far federal judges have blocked the ruling from taking effect in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Unsurprisingly, New York has not filed suit. It is incumbent upon us to protect our children and our parental rights by urging our senators, congressmen, and Governor Hochul to utilize the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn this ruling. Do not delay, as the new ruling is scheduled to go into effect on August 1st. To facilitate this call to action, Moms for Liberty has provided a toolkit which includes downloadable/editable template letters to send out immediately. (Scan the QR Code for the Title IX Toolkit for Parents).
Elena Chin is Mom’s for Liberty Queens County Chapter Chair. Email Elena at moms4libertyqueensny@gmail.com
