Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana have joined a growing chorus of states pledging to resist the Biden administration’s overhaul of Title IX rules, which changes the definition of sex to include claimed gender identities.
Last week, the Biden administration finalized controversial Title IX rules, forcing schools to consider claims of transgender identity legitimate and allowing boys in girls’ restrooms and other private spaces. The regulations are set to take effect Aug. 1.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced Thursday that Florida “will not comply” with Biden’s Title IX overhaul, announcing on X, “Florida rejects Joe Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX.”
“We are not going to let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities,” DeSantis said. “We are not gonna let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents, and we are not gonna let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida.”
The top education officials in South Carolina and Louisiana had similar messages to their local schools this week.
On Monday, Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley told school systems that because the new Title IX rules likely violate state law, they “should not alter policies or procedures at this time.” A letter sent to the districts noted a 2022 law that bars student-athletes from competing in sports that do not align with their biological sex.
Although the Education Department has yet to finalize a portion of Title IX rulemaking dedicated explicitly to athletics, Brumley told the Hill, “You can rest assured that they have the full intent of this applying completely to athletics moving forward.”
South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver also vowed to resist the rules, calling the changes made by the Biden administration “deeply troubling” in a Tuesday letter to local school boards.
“Now, under the guise of ‘fairness,’ the U.S. Department of Education seeks to expand the long-standing prohibition against discrimination based on ‘sex’ to include ‘sex stereotypes, sex-related characteristics (including intersex traits), pregnancy or related conditions, sexual
orientation, and gender identity,’” the letter stated. “This is not fairness: it is fiat.”
Weaver said she anticipates the rule will be “tied up in litigation for some time” and ultimately either be struck down by courts or modified. She said it is possible the rule could be nullified before Aug. 1.
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“By redefining the class of people that Title IX intends to protect, the Biden administration’s rule seeks to change the meaning and purpose of the underlying law, thus compelling the speech of students and teachers related to preferred pronoun use; upending biology-based protections for females in athletics, bathrooms, locker rooms, overnight accommodations, and other sex-separate spaces and activities; placing massive legal uncertainty and compliance costs on districts; and creating chaos and confusion for teachers, students, and parents,” Weaver added.
As the Washington Examiner reported, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters sent a letter to local superintendents directing them not to comply with the Title IX changes for similar reasons.
