House Republicans voted Thursday to repeal a Biden administration rule strengthening federal anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, the latest Republican victory over changes to Title IX, the civil rights law that prevents sexual discrimination in federally funded schools and education programs.
The Ministry of Education in April unveiled a final series of comprehensive changes to the decades-old law, including an expanded definition of sex discrimination to include discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation – a provision that has angered Republicans in Congress and States across the country.
House Republicans on Thursday passed a resolution on the Congressional Review Act, which would repeal the government’s Title IX regulations and return to the regulations introduced under former President Trump, by a vote of 210 to 205. Ten Republicans and eight Democrats did not vote.
A identical resolution But the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to pass the resolution, and the White House said this week that President Biden would veto the resolution if it lands on his desk. The Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s vote.
Republicans largely argued that the new rule would allow transgender women and girls to play on female school sports teams, although the Biden administration has not yet made a final decision. a separate regulation regulates the eligibility to participate in athletics.
The proposal, put forward by the Education Department last year, would prohibit schools from adopting policies that categorically exclude transgender student-athletes from sports teams that match their gender identity. However, schools would still be allowed to restrict participation based on certain criteria. The department delayed the rule last week, deferring the proposal to “long-term measures” without a specific timeline.
“The Biden Title IX rule will mean the end of girls’ sports,” said Republican Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, the lead sponsor of the censure resolution. “We must pray for a return to the Trump administration’s policies that protected our girls from these vile left-wing people and their agenda.”
Democrats in the House of Representatives criticized the vote to repeal the new Title IX regulation, which would also strengthen protections for pregnant students and their parents and change how schools deal with allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
“While Republicans claim this resolution is in the interest of women’s rights, their proposed solution will make things worse for female students,” said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Repealing this rule exacerbates existing inequalities, prevents future administrations from enacting a similar rule, and then places the blame solely on the LGBTQI+ community. This is shortsighted, petty, and cruel.”
More than two dozen Republican-led states have sued to challenge the new rules, arguing they undermine the original intent of Title IX. Last month, federal judges ruled in favor of the states in three cases, blocking the government’s rule from taking effect in 14 Republican-led states while the cases play out in court. The remaining states are expected to implement the changes by August 1.
The government’s rule also cannot be implemented in schools attended by children of members of the conservative political group Moms for Liberty, as well as in schools attended by members of the Young America’s Foundation, an organization for juvenile conservatives.
Although Title IX is a federal law, each administration takes a different approach to enforcing its regulations, which schools must follow to receive federal funding. In May, former President Trump vowed to reverse the rule of the Biden administration “on day one” of his presidency if he is re-elected in November.
