Blowback and lawsuits forced Biden to back down on Title IX. This is the rule that would have forced all publicly funded schools to allow male students identifying as female to participate in female sports. People were furious and lawsuits were filed. Female advocacy groups were happy while warning this could still be rewritten. The tone deaf administration needed to lose the election to get the message.
Biden forced down
The Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said, “In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time.” The Department of Education received over 150,000 public comments. Cardona noted, “Commenters offered a broad spectrum of opinions. there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity.”
Government can be forced to back down on something. May Mailman is the director of Independent Women’s Law Center and the attorney on the Alabama v. Cardona lawsuit. She put out a statement,
“Even the Biden administration can read the room that forcing women to compete and change with men is not a winning proposition. Every state and private sporting body should figure this out. The fight is far from over. Biden’s omnibus Title IX regulation redefines sex to mean gender identity, threatening all women’s opportunities in school, including athletics. We’re not done protecting women from the humiliation of being treated as though they are a state of mind.”
It took a change of power
To get their attention and for Biden to back down. Nicole Neily is the president and founder of Parents Defending Education. She said, “After 18 months, the Biden Administration finally comes to their senses on Title IX’s application to sports! All it took was 130K angry comments, consistent polling that showed a widening majority opposed to their position, and losing a national election.”
The opposition to this was entrenched and aggressive because it had to be. The government doesn’t yield. The Department of Education published the surrender in dry, bureaucratic language.
The administration proposed this April 2023
If this had gone through, men would have been allowed access to bathrooms, locker rooms and related facilities. Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Strategy Jonathan Scruggs celebrated on their website.
“Women and girls deserve to compete on a level playing field, and the U.S. Department of Education has taken a step in the right direction by withdrawing this proposed change. As the withdrawal admitted, many Americans voiced their opposition to the rule change, and there are many pending lawsuits related to protecting women’s sports — including a comment submitted by Alliance Defending Freedom and multiple lawsuits brought by ADF to protect women’s sports.”
