3 controversial Biden rule change proposals withdrawn ahead of Trump's inauguration
1. Interpreting Title IX to allow trans-identified males to compete in women’s sports
The United States Department of Education has published a notice of withdrawal for a proposed rule titled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams.”
First proposed in April 2023, the proposed rule would have required schools that receive federal funding under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1972 to refrain from instituting a blanket ban on trans-identified males competing in women’s sports.
Originally enacted to provide equal opportunities for women and girls in education, including in athletics, the proposed change to Title IX would have required schools to allow males to compete in female-only athletic competitions and vice versa if they self-identified as the opposite sex.
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More than a year-and-a-half later, the Department of Education cited a “broad spectrum of opinions” reflected in the more than 150,000 public comments posted during the public comment period in response to the proposal as well as the ongoing litigation surrounding state laws prohibiting trans-identified males from competing in women’s sports as the reasons why “the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time” and therefore “terminates this rulemaking proceeding.”
At present, over half of U.S. states have implemented legislation or regulations requiring athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their sex instead of their self-declared gender identity, including: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The push to enact such measures, which have been subject to litigation as highlighted by the Education Department, comes amid concerns that the biological differences between men and women give males an unfair advantage over females in athletics.
USA Powerlifting, which has enacted a policy requiring athletes to compete on teams that align with their sex, has identified “larger bone structure, higher bone density, stronger connective tissue and higher muscle density than women” as factors that work to men’s advantages in sports.
Lia Thomas, born Will Thomas, has emerged as one of the most prominent examples of a trans-identified male dominating women’s sports. The former collegiate swimmer began shattering women’s swimming records after joining the women’s swimming team at the University of Pennsylvania following three years of competing on the men’s swimming team.
In a statement published Tuesday, Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver praised the withdrawal of the proposed rule as reflective of “the views of most Americans who believe that women’s sports should remain reserved for female athletes.” He condemned the proposed rule as a “radical rewrite of Title IX regulations” that “contradicts everything the law was enacted to do,” specifically to “protect opportunities for women and girls.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
