Dive Brief:
-
House Republicans are seeking another way to block controversial TItle IX proposed rules, this time by attaching a provision to the U.S. Education Department's FY2024 appropriations bill that would bar the agency from using its funding to enforce protections for LGBTQ+ students.
-
The Republican-backed bill calls for funding the department at $67.5 billion. However, it would also prohibit any of the funding from being used to issue or implement regulations that protect LGBTQ+ students from sex discrimination or that stop blanket bans on transgender students from sports teams aligning with their gender identities.
-
Members of the House finished submitting amendments to the bill last week, and the amendments are scheduled for consideration on the House floor next week, said a spokesperson for the House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Subcommittee.
Dive Insight:
The provision adds to conservative leaders' pushback against the Education Department's efforts to make Title IX inclusive of LGBTQ+ individuals.
In August, six Republican senators sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, saying the administration's interpretation of Title IX "will undermine that law’s very purpose by making schools and sports unsafe and unfair for women and girls." The Republican senators also said the Education Department department "will weaponize Title IX to force a radical gender ideology in K-12 classrooms.”
That followed a call from 25 Republican governors in May, asking the Biden administration to walk back its proposed rules that would prevent states from enforcing blanket bans on transgender students participating on teams aligning with their gender identities.
Last year, 15 Republican attorneys general urged the Education Department to abandon its efforts to protect LGBTQ+ students under Title IX before the department even released its first proposal doing so. In their letter, the attorneys said they were prepared to take legal action against the department over the issue.
Once finalized, many expect the rules to wind up in legal crosshairs.
However, the department has postponed release of final rules twice — once in May and again in October. The department has not announced a new deadline for the long-awaited final Title IX regulations.
A spokesperson for the Education Department said the agency does not comment on pending legislation.
Dive Awards
