Last week, the Biden government announced its latest Title IX regulations, which deliver protections for gender identity, without explicitly mentioning “transgender” terminology. These rules, set to take effect on August 1, will mean all public schools risk legal and fiscal consequences if non-compliant. While not stating so outright, the regulations are viewed as enabling transgender students access to restrooms and changing rooms of their choice and would force schools to use students’ ‘preferred pronouns.’ Biden regime officials appeared to confirm these concerns in a press call with LGBTQ activists.
“These regulations make it crystal clear that no one should have to abandon their educational aspirations due to discrimination, whether it’s based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other sex-based factors,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.
‘A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT WOULD BE RECOGNIZED.’
Addressing a direct question about pronoun use, another Biden official confirmed that schools could be penalized for refusing to use transgender pronouns.
“The way that we would analyze that question is to assess whether a student is experiencing a sex-based hostile environment,” the official said. “[I]f the facts meet those standards, which is if, under the totality of the circumstances, sex-based conduct that is subjectively and objectively offensive to a student and to a person in the school community and it rises to the level that it limits or denies access to education, then a hostile environment would be recognized and we would evaluate whether the school had taken sufficient steps to remedy that hostile environment.”
Critics contend these regulations infringe on First Amendment rights by mantheydating recognition of gender identity and could prove to be an issue for the Biden government in court. “There are First Amendment problems with this regulation that the agency repeatedly dismisses without addressing. This will be a problem for the Biden admin in litigation,” wrote lawyer and child advocate Julie Hamill on X (formerly Twitter).
Third takeaway: There are First Amendment problems with this regulation that the agency repeatedly dismisses without addressing. This will be a problem for the Biden admin in litigation.
— Julie Hamill (@hamill_law) April 19, 2024