A proposal released Thursday by the Biden administration would prohibit schools and colleges across the US from outright banning transgender athletes, but teams could create some limits in some cases — for example, to ensure fairness .
The proposed rule sends a political backlash toward a wave of Republican-led states that have sought to ban trans athletes from competing in school sports that align with their gender identity. If finalized, the proposal would become enshrined as a provision of Title IX, the landmark gender equity law enacted in 1972.
However, it will have to go through a lengthy approval process, and is almost certain to face challenges from opponents.
The proposal comes the same day the Supreme Court ruled that a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia can continue competing on her middle school track and cross-country teams, while a legal battle over the state’s transgender law continues. The law bans transgender athletes from women’s teams.
All told, at least 16 states now have restrictions in effect covering at least high school interscholastic sports. Some also expand to intramural, club or college sports. At least three states have blocked enforcement of the bans by courts, and another that won’t go into effect until July.
Below Education The department’s proposed rule would not allow any school or college receiving federal funding to implement a “one-size-fits-all” policy that explicitly bars trans students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. forbids. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX.
Still, it leaves room for schools to develop team eligibility rules that could eventually result in restrictions around the participation of trans athletes.
It would only be permitted if it met “significant educational objectives”, such as fairness in competition and reduction of the risk of injury.
Any limit would have to consider the sport, the level of competition, and the age of the students. For example, elementary school students will generally be allowed to participate in any team corresponding to their gender identity. More competitive teams in high schools and colleges may add limits, but would be discouraged in teams that do not have tryouts or cuts.
“Every student should have the full experience of attending school in America, including participation in athletics,” Biden’s education secretary, Miguel Cardona, said in a statement.
The Biden administration’s use of “fairness of competition” as a criterion has been part of the debate in the US and globally. But officials did not provide any details on how this could be done.
When asked about state restrictions, a senior Department of Education official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said that Title IX is the law of the land and they will work to ensure that it is implemented in all states. To be followed
A new law in Kansas bans transgender athletes from kindergarten through college from girls’ and women’s sports that goes into effect July 1. Bill Paflick, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said his organization would need to review the administration’s proposal before commenting.
Critics argue that transgender athletes have an advantage over cisgender women in competition. Last year, Lia Thomas became the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming title. However, the governing body of college sports adopted a sport-by-sport approach to transgender athletes in January 2022, which was supposed to bring the organization in line with the US and International Olympic Committees, although recently the NCAA’s board decided that it Will not be fully implemented till 2023-24.
The NCAA did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
At the same time, international sports-governing bodies are instituting policies that ban all trans athletes from competing in track and field and effectively ban trans women from swimming events.
Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement that she is grateful for the administration’s actions and will work to ensure that “a final rule builds to further the fight against discrimination and misinformation.” , making it clear that trans, nonbinary, and intersex students deserve support, respect, and equal rights and opportunities.
But an advocate for cisgender runners described the proposal as “a slap in the face to female athletes who deserve an equal opportunity to compete in their sport.”
“The Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX demeans women and tells them that their athletic goals and placements don’t matter,” said Christiana Kiefer, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. She represented Connecticut runners who filed a lawsuit over the participation of two transgender girls in track and field events.
The Biden administration has made strengthening the rights of trans students a priority. Last year, it proposed a separate federal rule that would extend Title IX rights to LGBTQ students for the first time, broadly protecting them from discrimination in education.
That rule – which attracted more than 240,000 comments from the public and fierce opposition from conservatives – is expected to be finalized as soon as next month.
The new proposal does not offer examples of acceptable limits that can be placed on school sports, but makes it clear that restrictions cannot be directed solely at trans students. Schools would be left to navigate that tangled legal territory, with the knowledge that any violations could bring on federal civil rights investigations or lawsuits.
The proposal states that schools that choose to impose limits should “minimize harm” to students who lose out on athletics opportunities. If a school can achieve objectives such as fairness through less harmful means, the school may be deemed to be in violation of Title IX.
According to background information provided by the administration, “preventing students from participating on a sports team consistent with their gender identity can stigmatize and isolate them.” “It’s different from the experience of a student who doesn’t get picked for a team based on their skills.”
Schools that violate Title IX can face penalties up to competitive loss of federal funding, although no schools have ever been punished.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)