More Than 20 Groups Are Asking Biden To Stop His “Illegal” Title IX Move

The Trump administration is getting rid of some Title IX rules, which were announced by the Department of Education on Thursday. The proposed changes would reduce sexual discrimination in educational settings by making it harder for people to be hurt and by changing the language to include LGBTQI+ students’ sexual orientation and gender identity.

Title IX, a law passed by the U.S. Congress that bans sexual bias in educational programmes and activities, turned 50 on Thursday.

In honor of the event, President Biden and the Department of Education said they would propose changes to the law that would bring back victim protections that President Trump had taken away.

In a statement released by the White House, Vice President Joe Biden said, “Over the last fifty years, our nation has made monumental progress in advancing equity and equality for all students.” This includes closing the gender gap in sports, expanding opportunities in STEM fields, and protecting students from sex discrimination like sex-based harassment and sexual violence. “One of the most important parts of the American dream is the freedom to pursue one’s goals. Title IX made it possible to make changes that have helped millions of women and girls. He also made his own point.

The Department of Education says that the changes will make LGBTQI+ students’ rights stronger by making it clear that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not allowed.

“The government said that the proposed changes: “would make it clear that preventing someone from participating in school programmes and activities that match their gender identity would cause harm in violation of Title IX,” with some exceptions.”

Officials from the department have also said that they plan to send a second notice of proposed rulemaking to talk about whether or not Title IX rules about who can be on a male or female sports team need to be updated, and if so, how.

It was said that the proposed changes will include language against discrimination based on sex stereotypes and pregnancy. It would have to provide lactation rooms, give pregnant staff more break time, and help pregnant students in other ways.

On top of everything else, parents, guardians, and students’ legal representatives would have more rights to speak up for them. The agency said that this would make it possible for the people who were hurt to file complaints and get help under Title IX.

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s secretary of education, said that Title IX will be changed in a big way in May 2020. These changes will make it less important for schools to report sexual violence while giving victims more rights. In 2020, the government said that the changes would lead to a “more reliable and fair decision-making process for all students.”

With the changes suggested by the Biden administration, many controversial rules would be rolled back.

The agency said Thursday that these policies hurt the rights of people who have been sexually assaulted and hurt the promise of an education free of discrimination.

Some kinds of sexual harassment did not count as Title IX violations under the rules that were put in place during the Trump administration. The proposed changes cover unwanted sex-based behavior that creates a hostile environment by rejecting or limiting a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from a school’s education programme or activity. People will be able to say what they think about the changes before they are made.

Unless the changes are made, Title IX as it is now under the Trump administration only requires schools to look into formal claims of sexual harassment. Biden’s changes would require schools to look into all complaints, but the Department of Education has said it will keep as much of the current law as it can to make sure everything stays the same.

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