Over a dozen "transgender and nonbinary" state lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden on Monday, criticizing his administration's proposed Title IX policy changes allowing schools to ban transgender athletes from participating in "competitive" sports.
"There is no such thing as an acceptable 'compromise' that limits transgender Americans access to equal rights," the letter from the lawmakers read. "When it comes to policy addressing trans athletes, our stance is this: Trans athletes belong in sports. Full stop."
The administration's Department of Education proposed a new rule that would make it illegal for states to ban transgender students from participating in school sports teams that do not align with their gender identity. But as the Department notes, such considerations for transgender athletes playing in "competitive" sports could be subject to a ban.
As the Education Department notes, it "expects that, under its proposed regulation, elementary school students would generally be able to participate on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity where considerations may be different for competitive high school and college teams."
While the proposal aims to overturn broad bans and provide schools with the "flexibility" to make decisions on a case-by-case or sport-by-sport basis, schools would still be allowed to ban transgender athletes based on age and sport. The administration's proposal follows at least 19 states instituting similar bans in the last three years. The proposed changes are still subject to further review and discussion.
The proposed rule reads that "If a [school receiving federal funding] adopts or applies sex-related criteria, that would limit or deny a student's eligibility to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity, such criteria must, for each sport, level of competition, and grade or education level: (i) be substantially related to the achievement of an important educational objective, and (ii) minimize harms to students whose opportunity to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity would be limited or denied."
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