Statement on Biden Administration’s Finalization of New Title IX Rule

WASHINGTON— Today, the U.S. Department of Education finalized a range of critical updates to its regulations interpreting and enforcing Title IX, restoring and reinforcing vital civil rights protections for all students to access school spaces and programs free from sex discrimination. PFLAG National, in coalition with the National Women’s Law Center, the National Center for Transgender Equality, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and many others, issued the following statement:

“Students across races, places, and genders prove every day that they can do great things, especially when they can attend school without fear of harassment or discrimination. We commend the Biden administration for listening to the expert voices of students, advocates, parents, educators, and researchers, and for delivering on their commitment to clarify Title IX’s vital civil rights protections. By rescinding the Trump administration’s harmful and restrictive sex harassment rule, and making protections clearer for survivors, pregnant and parenting students, and LGBTQIA+ students, this rule will ensure every student has the freedom to learn and to be themselves. We look forward to working with the Biden administration and school administrators to ensure the rule is implemented.

“Yet, as we celebrate this milestone, we recognize that this regulation does not go far enough in making the law’s protections clear for all student athletes. Currently, 37 percent of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth live in states with laws that ban them from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. As with all students, Title IX protects transgender, nonbinary, and intersex student athletes from discriminatory policies, as the Biden administration has already argued in court and a federal appeals court upheld just this week.

“We call on President Biden and his administration to finish the job by providing further clarification for inclusive protections in athletics and robustly enforcing Title IX to ensure all students, including transgender, nonbinary, and intersex student athletes, realize the law’s full protections — because all students deserve the freedom to be themselves, to learn and to do their best at school.”

This joint statement is on behalf of the following organizations:

• A Better Balance
• American Association of University Women (AAUW)
• End Rape On Campus
• Equal Rights Advocates
• Girls Inc.
• GLSEN
• Healthy Teen Network
• Human Rights Campaign
• interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth
• It’s On Us
• Know Your IX, a project of Advocates for Youth
• National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
• National Center for Transgender Equality
• National Women’s Law Center
• PFLAG National
• Public Justice
• Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA)
• The Every Voice Coalition
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• The Pregnant Scholar, an initiative of the Center for WorkLife Law