WASHINGTON, DC (April 4, 2022): Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) today joined two dozen education, civil rights, and parent advocacy organizations in calling on the U.S. Department of Education to halt its announced overhaul of Title IX, which since 1972 has protected women’s rights in education and sports.
The new Biden rule proposes a new definition of “sex” that rolls back 50 years of advancement in women’s sports. The new rule also abandons protections for survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault, which under the current rule are unlawful sexual discrimination.
“Title IX is civil rights legislation, period. The Biden Administration’s extremist proposal to change Title IX threatens and may even violate the rights of women secured nearly 50 years ago,” said Kim Hermann, SLF General Counsel. “Every area covered by Title IX, including women’s sports, K-12 classroom education, due process for parents and students, free speech, and religious freedom will be directly under assault by the Biden Department of Education.”
Hermann predicts that the new Biden rule will quickly give rise to civil rights lawsuits challenging various aspects of the rule. “The new Biden rule casts adrift hard-won, longstanding women’s rights of all ages in favor of social redefinition driven by extreme ideology,” said Hermann. “That’s precisely what civil rights litigation is all about, and the new rule will bring plenty.”