Dept. of Ed. marks anniversary of Title IX with warning that schools must let biological males use girls' bathrooms, play girls' sports

Title IX was signed into law 49 years ago to protect the rights of women and girls in school or education programs that get federal money.

One of the most notable aspects of the law was its impact on school athletics, forcing equality for girls in sports. The law made it possible for girls to have their own teams and to compete with each other on a level playing field.

The law also requires schools to offer equal facilities, bathrooms, and locker rooms for women.

Today, however, biological males who identify as females are being allowed to compete in women's sports and use women's locker rooms and bathrooms, and now society is seeing women put at disadvantages once again in school and athletic settings — from gym locker rooms to high school track to the Olympics.

So, on the 49th anniversary of the law designed to create and maintain equality for women and girls in school and sports, did the U.S. government come out and declare it's time to return to the purpose of protecting women's rights?

No, instead, the U.S. Department of Education sent out a "Dear Educator" letter focused on explaining how Title IX's protections for women now extend to students who merely identify as women, complete with specific examples of trans "harassment," the Christian Post reported.

What did the letter say?

The letter from Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Suzanne Goldberg, posted Wednesday, highlighted resources for teachers "to ensure that the education environment you provide is free from sex discrimination in all forms" and to clarify "Title IX's protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

The department determined that Title IX applies to transgender students by citing the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County that said the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination based on orientation or gender identity.

I also want to bring to your attention OCR's public notice based on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), which clarifies that Title IX's protection against sex discrimination encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Specifically, OCR clarifies that the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock applies to the Department's interpretation of Title IX. In its decision, the Supreme Court explained that “it is impossible to discriminate against a person" because of their sexual orientation or gender identity “without discriminating against that individual based on sex." Id. at 1741. That reasoning applies regardless of whether the individual is an adult in a workplace or a student in school.

Consistent with this notice, OCR will fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department.

Goldberg also referred to "the particular vulnerability of LGBTQI+ students and the often overwhelming challenges these students face in education compared to their peers" as a reason for changing the implementation of Title IX.

She then linked to a "fact sheet" — which warned that schools might be hurting their students due to "assumptions about what it means to be a boy or a girl" — offering examples of discrimination that the agency said it would investigate.

Those examples included "incidents" — which deny that there are only two genders — that the U.S. government says would warrant investigation and possible prosecution for discrimination for recognizing biological fact.

One example from the Department of Education:

On her way to the girls' restroom, a transgender high school girl is stopped by the principal who bars her entry. The principal tells the student to use the boys' restroom or nurse's office because her school records identify her as “male." Later, the student joins her friends to try out for the girls' cheerleading team and the coach turns her away from tryouts solely because she is transgender. When the student complains, the principal tells her “those are the district's policies."

Meridian Baldacci, a strategist at the conservative Family Policy Alliance, responded to the "unhappy anniversary for Title IX," saying, "the Biden Administration single-handedly turned Title IX on its head to say that women are discriminating against MEN when they have concerns about men being called 'women,' using their locker rooms, competing on their sports teams, or taking away their championships and scholarship opportunities."

"That the Department of Education is demanding this in the name of 'protecting' students and stopping 'discrimination' is stunning," she added. "This move is misguided and antithetical to the purpose of Title IX."