Biden Administration Declares Transgender Students Are Protected Under Title IX

• President Joe Biden’s administration said Wednesday that it will interpret protections in the Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination against gay and transgender students under Title IX.
• “The Supreme Court has upheld the right for LGBTQ+ people to live and work without fear of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination – and our LGBTQ+ students have the same rights and deserve the same protections,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
• Former President Donald Trump’s administration had formerly threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that permitted biological males, or transgender students, from participating in women’s sports.

President Joe Biden’s administration said Wednesday that it will interpret protections in the Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination against gay and transgender students under Title IX.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Notice of Interpretation Wednesday that it will “enforce Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex to include: (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination based on gender identity.”

The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County one year ago, the Education Department said, saying that it is “impossible to discriminate against a person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity” without also discriminating against that person based on sex.

“The Supreme Court has upheld the right for LGBTQ+ people to live and work without fear of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination – and our LGBTQ+ students have the same rights and deserve the same protections,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement Wednesday.

“I’m proud to have directed the Office for Civil Rights to enforce Title IX to protect all students from all forms of sex discrimination. Today, the Department makes clear that all students—including LGBTQ+ students—deserve the opportunity to learn and thrive in schools that are free from discrimination,” Cardona said.

Former President Donald Trump’s administration had formerly threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that permitted biological males, or transgender students, from participating in women’s sports, according to the New York Times.

Activists said earlier this year that they were working with the Biden administration to challenge bills banning biological males from women’s sports.

“We are having conversations with the Biden administration about additional actions that they should be taking as it relates to anti-LGBTQ bills that we’re seeing in these states,” Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Alphonso David told the Daily Beast in early May. “But we want to make sure we don’t lose sight of how important those words are, and how important his early actions have been to support and protect LGBTQ people throughout the country.”

The Biden administration also announced May 10 that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights would interpret Section 1557 and Title IX prohibitions on discrimination based on sex to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and on the basis of gender identity.

“The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. That’s why today HHS announced it will act on related reports of discrimination,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said at the time.

“Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences,” Becerra said. “It is the position of the Department of Health and Human Services that everyone — including LGBTQ people — should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.”

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