The Biden administration released a draft proposal Friday which would amend the famous Title IX. The revision “does not specifically mention trans athletes, it does add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes” reports National Review.
Additionally, the proposal included a radical revision that would have “forced federally funded educational institutions to allow men to compete on their women’s sports teams unless they demonstrate it compromises student safety. Under that rule, the burden of proof would have been shifted to schools, which in effect would have to create separate policies for every sport.”
“I never thought I’d see the day where Title IX would be used to harm women, but sadly, that day has come,” Former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement to National Review. “The Biden Administration’s radical rewrite of Title IX guts the half century of protections and opportunities for women and callously replaces them with radical gender theory, as Biden’s far-left political base demanded. This regulation is an assault on women and girls.”
National Review explains:
Friday’s announcement does, however, reverse Trump-era sexual assault rules, rolling back some due-process protections for accused students and lowering the standard for finding a student guilty of sexual misconduct.
The rule prohibits “all forms of sex-based harassment, including sexual violence and unwelcome sex-based conduct that creates a hostile environment by limiting or denying a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from a school’s education program or activity.”
With the new rule, investigators involved in campus cases now have the option to hold a hearing of both parties, as was required under the Trump-era policy, or hold individual meetings where a party or witness will be asked questions offered by the other party.
The timeline for the new Title IX release had been delayed multiple times. First expected in May 2023, the release was postponed to October then again to March 2024. The Education Department received over 230,000 comments during the draft period.
