RALEIGH — Just before the Christmas holiday, the Biden administration withdrew its Title IX rule change that changed the definition of sex to include “gender identity.”
In its Federal Register withdrawal notice, the Biden Department of Education (DOE) acknowledged the “multiple pending lawsuits” against the Title IX rule change as the main reason.
“The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts,” the DOE wrote. “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. Therefore, the Department hereby withdraws the Athletics NPRM and terminates this rulemaking proceeding.”
More than 20 states along with about a dozen women’s advocacy and K-12-related groups sued to stop the Title IX changes with some success, with the rule blocked from taking effect in 14 states.
In early July, Judge John W. Broomes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas issued an injunction blocking the Biden administration from “implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action” the new rule.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), one of the groups involved in lawsuits against the Title IX rule change, issued a statement that the DOE had “taken a step in the right direction” by withdrawing its rule.
“The decision to withdraw the proposed sports rule merely reflects the views of the vast majority of Americans who believe that women’s sports should remain reserved for female athletes,” ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Legal Strategy Jonathan Scruggs said in the statement.
In April, the Biden administration finalized the rule for adoption after a postponement earlier that year in June. The redefinition of sex in the rule effectively allowed those identifying as females to play on women’s sports teams and use women’s spaces in schools.
Following finalization of the new language, then-North Carolina Superintendent Catherine Truitt pushed back and issued a letter to Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona warning the change would “undermine the intent of Title IX.”
In August, the state’s largest K-12 district of Wake County incorporated the rule into its antidiscrimination policies.
The Title IX rule withdrawal will likely have implications for a lawsuit filed by three LGBTQ+ activist groups against North Carolina’s Parents’ Bill of Rights law and Fairness in Women’s Sports law, which bars males from competing in female sports. The complaint was filed in February by Campaign for Southern Equality, Youth OUTright WNC and PFLAG Asheville.
