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Friday, Jan. 10, 2025

Did the Biden Administration use Title IX to ‘force’ participation of trans student athletes in Oklahoma schools?

Matthew Yim, Oklahoma Watch
no

The Biden Administration proposed an amendment to Title IX that barred categorical bans against trans student athletes, but later withdrew it.

The provision would have blocked outright prohibitions of trans student athletes while allowing schools to limit their participation if related to a government objective such as fairness in competition or injury prevention.

Biden’s Department of Education first introduced the provision in April 2023 but omitted it from its final rule change a year later. It was formally withdrawn in December 2024, with the department citing pending lawsuits and the public comments it received.

The final rule change expands Title IX’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination in education to sexual orientation and gender identity. The Department of Education cited a 2020 Supreme Court decision barring discrimination against sexual orientation in the workplace as precedent.

The rule faces multiple legal challenges and is currently blocked in 26 states.

See a full discussion of this at Oklahoma Watch

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