Latest news with #TitleIXMonth
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Energy Department proposes dismantling parts of Title IX allowing girls on boys' teams
The Trump administration has leaned heavily on Title IX in its effort to purge sports of transgender women and girls, but attorneys and experts on the 1972 civil rights law say its latest move will disproportionately affect girls who are not transgender. The Department of Energy is preparing to roll back a portion of Title IX requiring that some sports be open to 'the underrepresented sex,' a cornerstone of the federal law against sex discrimination in schools that President Trump's administration has said conflicts with his executive order to restrict trans athletes' participation. The department plans to rescind a rule that has for decades allowed girls to try out for boys' sports teams or vice versa when there is no equivalent team at their school, with some exceptions for contact sports. The move would only affect schools and education programs that receive funding from the Energy Department. The department, which traditionally does not regulate or enforce Title IX, plans to rescind a rule that has for decades allowed girls to try out for boys' sports teams or vice versa when there is no equivalent female team at their school, with some exceptions for contact sports. The Women's Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Billie Jean King, a foundational figure in women's fight for parity in sports in the 1960s and 70s, said the Energy Department's proposal threatens to unravel years of progress and limit athletic opportunities for girls. 'To uphold the spirit and promise of Title IX, we urge for it to be withdrawn,' the group said in an emailed statement to The Hill. In justifying its proposal, announced last month, the Energy Department said athletics rules allowing girls to compete on boys' teams 'ignore differences between the sexes which are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,' language from Trump's day one executive order proclaiming the federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female. Rescinding the regulation, the department said, aligns with another Trump order declaring the U.S. opposes 'male competitive participation in women's sports' as a matter of 'safety, fairness, dignity and truth.' The Education Department, which has historically enforced Title IX, has launched more than two dozen investigations this year into states, school districts and sports associations that allow trans girls to compete against and alongside girls who are not transgender. In announcing that the department would recognize June, which is traditionally Pride Month, as 'Title IX Month,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the administration 'will fight on every front to protect women's and girls' sports.' The changes the Department of Energy proposed would do little to further that objective, said James Nussbaum, an attorney focused on education and sports law at Church, Church, Hittle, and Antrim in Indiana. 'I'm scratching my head for the motivation behind [rescinding the rule] because they mention the 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' executive order, but it won't really apply in the vast majority of those cases because [the rule] only allows a person to participate in a sport of the other sex on two conditions,' Nussbaum said. 'One, the school doesn't already offer that sport for their sex, and two, they're the 'underrepresented sex' historically, and that's just not male sports at the vast majority of schools.' While no high schools in the U.S. offer an all-girls tackle football team, for example, more than 4,000 girls played 11-person tackle football on boys' teams for the 2023-2024 school year, according to the National Federation of State High Schools Association. An Energy Department spokesperson did not return a request for comment. Government agencies looking to change federal regulations must typically do so through a lengthy administrative process beginning with advance notice of proposed rulemaking and a public comment period generally lasting 30-60 days. The Energy Department's Title IX proposal, submitted as a 'direct final rule,' (DFR) would skirt traditional regulatory channels, allowing it to take effect automatically on July 15 absent 'significant adverse comments,' the deadline for which to submit is Monday. DFRs are exempt from parts of the standard rulemaking process, with which federal agencies must comply under the Administrative Procedures Act. Agencies may use DFRs when addressing issues that are technical, uncontroversial or unlikely to elicit a significant adverse response. 'None of that applies in this situation,' said Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive schools at the National Women's Law Center. 'These are regulations that are long-standing, that have existed for decades.' That the athletics proposal originated in the Department of Energy rather than the Department of Education, whose Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is typically responsible for regulating and enforcing Title IX, is unusual, legal experts said. Other agencies providing federal financial assistance to educational institutions also bear some enforcement responsibility, and under the Trump administration, the Health and Human Services and Justice departments have moved to carry out the law. In April, the departments of Justice and Education launched a joint special investigations task force to streamline the government's handling of Title IX inquiries, citing ballooning caseloads. 'Generally, things have followed kind of a principle of logic — you stick to the things you're experts in, you regulate the things that you are tasked with regulating,' said Maha Ibrahim, program managing attorney for Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit gender justice and women's rights organization. In the past, she said, federal agencies such as the Energy Department might propose updating their Title IX regulations to mirror those issued by the Education Department to ensure cross-agency consistency, but they don't usually 'step out of their lane and do the initial regulatory change.' 'This is unusual in an alarming way,' she said. The Department of Energy, with a larger budget and greater resources to conduct investigations, was perhaps the better choice to introduce the proposal over the Education Department, which Trump has sought to close, Ibrahim said. In March, the agency shuttered seven of its 12 civil rights enforcement offices and fired hundreds of workers, K-12 Dive reported. Through its Renew America's Schools Program, the Energy Department has invested $372.5 million in K-12 public school districts nationwide. The department also provides over $3.5 billion annually through grant programs to more than 300 colleges and universities. While the Energy Department's proposal would only directly affect schools that receive its funding, the plan would create inconsistencies among federal agencies with Title IX regulations, confusing schools and potentially hampering students' and educators' ability to file claims, said Patel, of the National Women's Law Center. The organization, which advocates for women's and LGBTQ rights, plans to submit a comment opposing the rule change, she said. More than 1,800 comments have already been submitted, but their content is not publicly available. The Title IX proposal is part of a larger Department of Energy push to quickly eliminate or reduce dozens of regulations that it said in May 'are driving up costs and lowering quality of life for the American people.' 'While it would normally take years for the Department of Energy to remove just a handful of regulations, the Trump Administration assembled a team working around the clock to reduce costs and deliver results for the American people in just over 110 days,' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last month. The department's deregulatory efforts include terminating or modifying 47 rules that would, once finalized, free up an estimated $11 billion and cut more than 125,000 words from the Code of Federal Regulations, the department said. Rules on the chopping block include diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements for federal grant recipients, which the Energy Department has called 'unscientific.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump's Energy Department proposes dismantling parts of Title IX allowing girls on boys' teams
The Trump administration has leaned heavily on Title IX in its effort to purge sports of transgender women and girls, but attorneys and experts on the 1972 civil rights law say its latest move will disproportionately affect girls who are not transgender. The Department of Energy is preparing to roll back a portion of Title IX requiring that some sports be open to 'the underrepresented sex,' a cornerstone of the federal law against sex discrimination in schools that President Trump's administration has said conflicts with his executive order to restrict trans athletes' participation. The department plans to rescind a rule that has for decades allowed girls to try out for boys' sports teams or vice versa when there is no equivalent team at their school, with some exceptions for contact sports. The move would only affect schools and education programs that receive funding from the Energy Department. The department, which traditionally does not regulate or enforce Title IX, plans to rescind a rule that has for decades allowed girls to try out for boys' sports teams or vice versa when there is no equivalent female team at their school, with some exceptions for contact sports. The Women's Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Billie Jean King, a foundational figure in women's fight for parity in sports in the 1960s and 70s, said the Energy Department's proposal threatens to unravel years of progress and limit athletic opportunities for girls. 'To uphold the spirit and promise of Title IX, we urge for it to be withdrawn,' the group said in an emailed statement to The Hill. In justifying its proposal, announced last month, the Energy Department said athletics rules allowing girls to compete on boys' teams 'ignore differences between the sexes which are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,' language from Trump's day one executive order proclaiming the federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female. Rescinding the regulation, the department said, aligns with another Trump order declaring the U.S. opposes 'male competitive participation in women's sports' as a matter of 'safety, fairness, dignity and truth.' The Education Department, which has historically enforced Title IX, has launched more than two dozen investigations this year into states, school districts and sports associations that allow trans girls to compete against and alongside girls who are not transgender. In announcing that the department would recognize June, which is traditionally Pride Month, as 'Title IX Month,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the administration 'will fight on every front to protect women's and girls' sports.' The changes the Department of Energy proposed would do little to further that objective, said James Nussbaum, an attorney focused on education and sports law at Church, Church, Hittle, and Antrim in Indiana. 'I'm scratching my head for the motivation behind [rescinding the rule] because they mention the 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' executive order, but it won't really apply in the vast majority of those cases because [the rule] only allows a person to participate in a sport of the other sex on two conditions,' Nussbaum said. 'One, the school doesn't already offer that sport for their sex, and two, they're the 'underrepresented sex' historically, and that's just not male sports at the vast majority of schools.' While no high schools in the U.S. offer an all-girls tackle football team, for example, more than 4,000 girls played 11-person tackle football on boys' teams for the 2023-2024 school year, according to the National Federation of State High Schools Association. An Energy Department spokesperson did not return a request for comment. Government agencies looking to change federal regulations must typically do so through a lengthy administrative process beginning with advance notice of proposed rulemaking and a public comment period generally lasting 30-60 days. The Energy Department's Title IX proposal, submitted as a 'direct final rule,' (DFR) would skirt traditional regulatory channels, allowing it to take effect automatically on July 15 absent 'significant adverse comments,' the deadline for which to submit is Monday. DFRs are exempt from parts of the standard rulemaking process, with which federal agencies must comply under the Administrative Procedures Act. Agencies may use DFRs when addressing issues that are technical, uncontroversial or unlikely to elicit a significant adverse response. 'None of that applies in this situation,' said Shiwali Patel, senior director of safe and inclusive schools at the National Women's Law Center. 'These are regulations that are long-standing, that have existed for decades.' That the athletics proposal originated in the Department of Energy rather than the Department of Education, whose Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is typically responsible for regulating and enforcing Title IX, is unusual, legal experts said. Other agencies providing federal financial assistance to educational institutions also bear some enforcement responsibility, and under the Trump administration, the Health and Human Services and Justice departments have moved to carry out the law. In April, the departments of Justice and Education launched a joint special investigations task force to streamline the government's handling of Title IX inquiries, citing ballooning caseloads. 'Generally, things have followed kind of a principle of logic — you stick to the things you're experts in, you regulate the things that you are tasked with regulating,' said Maha Ibrahim, program managing attorney for Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit gender justice and women's rights organization. In the past, she said, federal agencies such as the Energy Department might propose updating their Title IX regulations to mirror those issued by the Education Department to ensure cross-agency consistency, but they don't usually 'step out of their lane and do the initial regulatory change.' 'This is unusual in an alarming way,' she said. The Department of Energy, with a larger budget and greater resources to conduct investigations, was perhaps the better choice to introduce the proposal over the Education Department, which Trump has sought to close, Ibrahim said. In March, the agency shuttered seven of its 12 civil rights enforcement offices and fired hundreds of workers, K-12 Dive reported. Through its Renew America's Schools Program, the Energy Department has invested $372.5 million in K-12 public school districts nationwide. The department also provides over $3.5 billion annually through grant programs to more than 300 colleges and universities. While the Energy Department's proposal would only directly affect schools that receive its funding, the plan would create inconsistencies among federal agencies with Title IX regulations, confusing schools and potentially hampering students' and educators' ability to file claims, said Patel, of the National Women's Law Center. The organization, which advocates for women's and LGBTQ rights, plans to submit a comment opposing the rule change, she said. More than 1,800 comments have already been submitted, but their content is not publicly available. The Title IX proposal is part of a larger Department of Energy push to quickly eliminate or reduce dozens of regulations that it said in May 'are driving up costs and lowering quality of life for the American people.' 'While it would normally take years for the Department of Energy to remove just a handful of regulations, the Trump Administration assembled a team working around the clock to reduce costs and deliver results for the American people in just over 110 days,' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last month. The department's deregulatory efforts include terminating or modifying 47 rules that would, once finalized, free up an estimated $11 billion and cut more than 125,000 words from the Code of Federal Regulations, the department said. Rules on the chopping block include diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements for federal grant recipients, which the Energy Department has called 'unscientific.'
Chicago Tribune
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Letters to the Editor: False information being spread in case of transgender athlete
I am writing in response to the Naperville Sun article, 'Meeting packed with supporters/opponents of trans student athletes,' published Wednesday, June 4. I support transgender people and our top-ranked Naperville public schools. I thank Naperville schools for their continued support of all children. Hours of comments at the two recent Naperville District 203 School Board meetings would have been unnecessary if not for Awake Illinois, an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group, exposing the face and details about a transgender child. The majority of attendees supported transgender rights. Anti-transgender speakers made numerous false claims, including: 1. Some said the child involved is a boy. False. Transgender girls are not boys. The repeated phrase of 'boys in girls' sports' is a slur, not a fact. 2. No child in Naperville District 203 has 'pretended to be a girl' to win at sports. 3. No transgender females have changed or showered in locker rooms with cisgender girls. Gender accommodations are discussed among the student, their family and the school. 4. No federal law supersedes state law in this sports competition case. 5. There is no such thing as Title IX Month nor has it replaced Pride Month. An executive order creating Title IX Month has no legal standing. Title IX protects all students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Awake used an isolated case to discriminate, marginalize, intimidate and erase transgender people and to call for defunding public schools. Naperville District 203 Policy 7:10 explicitly states that equal education and extra-curricular opportunities shall be available for all students regardless of gender identity. Policy 7:20 states that harassment of students is prohibited based on gender identity. The relentless bullying of transgender people by the current Trump administration and hate groups like Awake Illinois contributes to the distress of trans children, their families and allies. Awake and MAGA extremists try to foment fear of transgender people and destroy public schools, whose mission is to educate all students, give all students equal opportunities, and make all students feel valued and welcomed. Transgender athletes in sports warrant study by the scientific community. Decisions must not be dictated by Christian nationalists or others who hate transgender people, deny their existence or aim to erode their rights. Lies about trans kids must not be used to try to defund public schools. Being transgender is not an ideology, but one of many natural ways to be. Transgender people want to live their lives just like everyone else.
Axios
04-06-2025
- General
- Axios
Trump admin rolls back LGBTQ+ gains during Pride Month
The Trump administration isn't celebrating Pride Month, but rather walking back initiatives to recognize LGBTQ+ communities. The big picture: It's a part of a larger repeal of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by the administration, which have contributed to an increasingly hostile climate for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., particularly for transgender individuals. State of play: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the White House has "no plans" to make a proclamation for the month of June. That marks a reversal from the yearly "Pride Month" proclamations and elaborate celebrations under former President Biden. Meanwhile, the Department of Education on Tuesday announced it's recognizing June as Title IX Month, "commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity." Flashback: Trump didn't issue presidential proclamations celebrating Pride in his first term either, only marking the occasion with a social media post in 2019. Zoom in: In the first few days of Pride Month, the administration has taken steps to target LGBTQ+ recognition efforts. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Navy to rename a ship that bears the name of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk. Hegseth is "committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. The FBI on Monday requested tips from the public on hospitals, clinics or practitioners performing gender-affirming surgeries to youth, putting that care among transgender youth under close scrutiny. Trump threatened to cut funding to California if it continues to allow transgender athletes to compete in women's sports, doubling down this week after a trans high schooler won state championships. "President Trump is protecting women in sports and restoring common sense," spokesperson Harrison Fields told Axios Tuesday. The National Park Service planned to close Dupont Circle in D.C. to bar people from celebrating Pride, but later reverted. Between the lines: Minnesota state Rep. Leigh Finke told Axios that while acts of violence are not directly tied to the Trump administration, his policies and the "language of dehumanization and ... language of eradication" have consequences. Our thought bubble via Axios' Russell Contreras: Trump's pullback on Pride comes as the nation is set the celebrate the fourth anniversary of Juneteenth becoming a national holiday.
Chicago Tribune
03-06-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville D203 board meeting packed with supporters/opponents of transgender student athletes
For the second time in a month, a Naperville District 203 School Board meeting was packed by people supporting and opposed to a transgender student athlete's right to participate in a girl's track meet. For nearly 90 minutes Monday, attendees debated the rights of students to participate in school sports aligned with their chosen gender following a junior high school track meet at which a transgender student reportedly raced alongside girls and won some of the events. Awake Illinois filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights alleging the district violated Title IX safeguards for 'engaging in sex-based discrimination within education programs or activities that receive federal funding.' Members of Awake Illinois and their supporters Monday held bright yellow signs with such messages as 'Stop Exploiting Kids,' 'Freeze Federal Funds' and 'Defend Title IX,' and argued that allowing trans students to participate in girls' sports harms female athletes and their access to fair competition. Shannon Adcock, a Naperville resident who founded Awake Illinois, said the U.S. Department of Education announced it is recognizing June as Title IX Month in honor of the the 53rd anniversary of the law. Title IX provides women protections on the basis of sex in all educational activities, including their rights to equal opportunity in sports and sex-segregated intimate spaces, according to a news release Monday from the U.S. Department of Education. 'Throughout the month (of June), the department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden administration's legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX,' the release said. June is also Pride Month, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ supporters, who waved transgender rights flags and carried signs promoting inclusion, told the school board that excluding trans girls hurts an already marginalized community, who are at a greater risk for violence, sexual assault and suicide. 'Nobody voluntarily signs up to be bullied to the level that trans students are by both other children and adults,' said Charlee Friedman, director of operations for Trans Up Front, adding that families in the district asked for the organization's support to advocate for their children. Friedman said 21 trans children in Illinois have committed suicide this year. Bullying 'has become so emboldened since the Trump administration,' she said. 'We are here to protect children, to protect their lives,' Friedman said. Several speakers denounced Awake Illinois for spreading videos of the track meet and the minor student's image on social media. Derek Miller said he was disappointed by the behavior of some adults in the community. 'There were adults sharing photos, videos and the name of this student at the center of the controversy, and this is a child,' he said. '… I want to emphasize these are children who are being attacked.' While he understands points on both sides of the issue, some might be promoting the issue in order to 'go viral' or to appear on cable news stations, Miller said. 'That is disgusting, and it needs to stop,' he said. 'Our kids should not be treated as political pawns.' 'They outed, targeted and doxxed a transgender girl in your district … all because she ran in a track meet and won,' Peter Rivera said. 'Some parents were upset and instead of dealing with it privately like adults, they handed the child over to a hate group. There are good faith arguments about integrating trans athletes in their sports, but this wasn't a discussion. This was a smear campaign, a lynching, a coordinated effort to shame and endanger a teenager.' Diana Piedra said it was shameful Awake Illinois shared videos of the athlete. 'The only way to fight hate is with love,' she said. Other speakers Monday said girls' rights were being infringed by allowing trans athletes to participate in their sports. 'Most of America believes girls sports should be protected,' Adcock said. '… Boys sports. Girls sports. It is that simple.' Laura Hois, a Naperville Central graduate and co-chair of the Downers Grove chapter of Awake Illinois, said 'boys are boys and pretending they are girls is a lie.' Trans rights does not supersede the rights of female athletes,' Hois said. 'I think it's terribly sad and tragic that today this District 203 is allowing boys to intrude in girls sports,' she said. 'District 203 is subjecting itself to liability for violation of girls' constitutional rights, for violation of civil rights laws, for violation of Title IX and violation of common sense.' Some speakers said just because someone was born male doesn't mean they have an automatic physical advantage over girls. 'Exclusion invites gender policing that could subject any girl to invasive tests or accusations of being too masculine or too good at her sport … to be a 'real girl,'' Tim Rhodes said. 'Trans athletes and cis gender athletes all vary in ability as do we all.'
