The Biden administration’s changes to Title IX — the 1972 statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex — go into effect nationwide Thursday.
But the changes won’t go into effect in Texas and 20 other states that are challenging the new rule.
In early May, Gov. Greg Abbott directed state colleges and universities to ignore the Title IX re-write. The state successfully sued the federal government to block the changes, calling them unlawful.
For more on why Texas is not adopting the new changes to Title IX, KERA's Bekah Morr sat down with education reporter Bill Zeeble.
Bill, to start us off, can you talk about what the Biden administration's new title nine rule does?
Bill Zeeble: Sure. But let me backtrack to the original. The original Title IX was written to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that received federal dollars. Those changes opened up a world of athletic benefits for girls and women nationwide, where they hadn't previously had access. So there was more funding for sports, for athletic scholarships at large, and small colleges.
Now, the Biden administration wants to expand the definition of sex discrimination, to quote, "discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity." This is seen as adding protections for LGBTQ+ students. The change would also require, quote, "a preponderance of evidence when evaluating sexual harassment on campuses." And that essentially pulls back previous rule changes that called for alleged victims to be questioned during sexual harassment investigations. So it's designed to ease pressure on victims and survivors.
So where's the controversy in this? What are states like Texas opposing, exactly?
Well, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration to block the new rules. He called it unlawful and said schools would lose federal funding if they don't comply. He succeeded in court and sent an advisory to all Texas schools, telling them not to adopt or enforce any part of the new rule. And it's not just the state. It's not just at the state level. Carroll ISD sued to stop changes from taking effect in its district, and it said Title IX changes take protections away from girls and away from women.
Here's Carroll ISD school board President Cam Bryan in July outside a federal courthouse in Fort Worth.
Cam Bryan: "This lawsuit is about protecting our daughters and girls from boys accessing their bathrooms and locker rooms and competing on their athletic teams."
Carroll also argues it would cost the district close to $100 million to retrain employees over how to define and handle sex discrimination instances, and Carroll ISD says it just can't afford that. Federal Judge Reed O'Connor, who was a George W, Bush appointee, agreed with Carroll ISD and issued a temporary injunction.
So what happens next here?
The Biden administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow some parts of the rule to take effect in Louisiana and Tennessee. They're both suing the Department of Education in separate lawsuits. And the American Council on Education, it's still advising colleges and universities to "consult with their legal counsel regarding their title nine obligations," because the legal situation could change.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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