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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Biden administration\u2019s outrageous rule change allows males to self-identify into women\u2019s spaces and curtails free speech.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
By Ginny Gentles<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a call with reporters last week, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona disingenuously claimed that the Biden administration\u2019s sweeping new Title IX rule makes \u201ccrystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights.\u201d Actually, the new Title IX regulations<\/a> socially engineer every component of the educational environment to create dangerous and unwelcoming schools for girls and young women, while also undermining parents who affirm biological reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the common misconception that Title IX simply protects women\u2019s collegiate sports, it is a robust anti-discrimination mandate that prohibits federally funded educational institutions \u2014 early childhood, K-12, educational programs, and higher education \u2014 from discriminating \u201con the basis of sex.\u201d Title IX, which was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, states<\/a>: \u201cNo person in the United States shall, on the<\/strong> basis of sex<\/strong>, [emphasis added] 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Biden administration\u2019s recently finalized 1,577-page regulations dramatically expand Title IX\u2019s statutory protections for sex discrimination by redefining \u201csex\u201d to include so-called gender identity, sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and sex characteristics. But, as the vast majority<\/a> of Americans know, \u201csex\u201d (sometimes incorrectly<\/a> referred to as gender) is not the same as \u201cgender identity.\u201d As The Washington Post acknowledged<\/a> last year, polling reveals, \u201cMost Americans don\u2019t believe it\u2019s even possible to be a gender that differs from that assigned at birth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Title IX was intended to ensure women are treated fairly and have educational opportunities, not to pave the way for males claiming an alternative \u201cgender identity\u201d to access women\u2019s scholarships and spaces. It also wasn\u2019t supposed to be used to curtail protected speech by punishing students and teachers for using biologically false pronouns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s right: When Biden\u2019s Title IX rule takes effect on Aug. 1, using the \u201cwrong\u201d (e.g., biologically accurate) pronouns will be considered \u201csex-based harassment\u201d and a federal civil rights violation worthy of investigation and discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of allowing males to self-identify into women\u2019s spaces and opportunities, destabilizing educational environments, and curtailing free speech, the behemoth Title IX rule also undermines parents. Under the new Title IX regime, school districts likely will assume that policies<\/a> that hide emotionally vulnerable children\u2019s gender confusion from parents, already in place in thousands of schools around the country, are now federally required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under these parental-exclusion policies, when a child decides to embrace a new name, identity, and set of pronouns, school staff swiftly craft<\/a> \u201cgender support plans\u201d that codify the child\u2019s new identity and determine the bathrooms, locker rooms, and sleeping arrangements for overnight trips the child will use. The child determines if school staff should actively hide the new name and identity from the parents, uniting the entire school community against the parents as the school secretly shoves the child down a dangerous path of social and likely irreversible and harmful<\/a> medical transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the administration\u2019s Title IX rule commentary claims that \u201cnothing in these final regulations prevents a recipient from disclosing information about a minor child to their parent who has the legal right to receive disclosures on behalf of their child,\u201d the rule directly instructs<\/a> schools to update their internal gender identity policies and points to examples of state<\/a> and district<\/a> policies that explicitly require schools to hide a child\u2019s chosen identity from his or her parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the new rule, if a middle school student feels that his teacher has not hidden his \u201cgender fluid\u201d identity sufficiently from his parents, the district could treat it as a Title IX violation. The school district\u2019s Title IX coordinator would investigate to avoid facing a federal investigation or losing federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As WebMD states<\/a>, \u201cA person who is gender fluid may identify as male one day, female the next, both male and female, or neither.\u201d So, that same middle school student\u2019s pronouns will shift unceasingly (until he embraces a different gender identity or accepts biological reality), putting every student and teacher at risk of violating Title IX if they don\u2019t use that day\u2019s \u201ccorrect\u201d pronouns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alarmingly, the regulations state that \u201csex-based harassment\u201d that occurs outside of school could be considered a Title IX violation if the behavior contributes to a hostile environment at school. The final rule responds to stakeholders\u2019 concerns about administrative overreach by doubling down<\/a>, stating that schools have an obligation to address a \u201chostile environment,\u201d \u201ceven when some conduct alleged to be contributing to the hostile environment occurred outside the recipient\u2019s education program or activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if a child claims she is unhappy that her parents are gently questioning why she suddenly considers herself to be a boy, a school could interpret the parents\u2019 belief in biological reality as a Title IX violation. Although the regulations pay lip service to parental rights, the administration also instructs schools to coordinate with a child \u201cand their parent, as appropriate<\/strong>\u201d [emphasis added] on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School districts\u2019 Title IX coordinators are going to be extremely powerful people as they launch investigations and create and implement policies that ensure radical gender ideology is enforced at all levels of education and<\/em> in students\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though many<\/a> children struggling with gender identity have special needs, the new rule throws federal laws that involve their parents out the window. The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guarantees parents\u2019 rights to inspect and review their children\u2019s educational records, and the federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) requires that parents be included in the decision-making process when schools determine how to address a child\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Biden regime acknowledges these long-standing federal protections, but the Title IX rule specifically states<\/a> that \u201crequirements of Title IX override any conflicting FERPA provisions.\u201d The Biden administration also claims that the new Title IX regulations overrule numerous state laws that protect parental rights, undermining the authority of state legislatures and parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parents do not turn children over to federally controlled government schools and assume that the school will make decisions that affect their children\u2019s emotional and physical health without parental input. As parents, we have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing, care, and education of our children. We\u2019re not going to let the Biden administration\u2019s outrageous Title IX rule change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEnding Free Speech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Undermining Parents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Investigating \u2018Sex-Based Harassment\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Parental Rights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n