The Biden administration Department of Education has rolled back Title IX regulations put in place by the Trump administration, according to a report by the Washington Examiner.
The move “expands the definition of ‘sex’ under the famous civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under the law’s nondiscrimination provisions.”
Under the Biden administration’s new position, U.S. school athletic programs could be forced to include transgender athletes in sports programs based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex — meaning that biological men could be allowed to play in women’s sports, so long as they claim that they identify as “women.”
In 2020, the Trump administration’s Education Department headed by Betsy DeVos changed Title IX regulatory policy, which “substantially overhauled procedural requirements for universities adjudicating sexual assault and harassment complaints.”
The Trump administration position included provisions that required universities to hold live hearings for sexual assault cases, which would include cross-examination of both the accuser and the accused, by a chosen representative.
The Biden administration, along with the “sex” definition expansion, has done away with the due process requirements previously enacted by the former administration.
“The new proposal eliminates the requirement for a live hearing and allows schools to conduct and adjudicate sexual assault hearings with a single investigator if the institution so desires,” the Examiner reported.
“Studies have found that information-gathering approaches such as questions asked in individual meetings instead of during a live hearing (sometimes described as inquisitorial procedures) are more likely to produce the truth than adversarial methods like cross-examination,” the Biden administration regulation states.
“As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this landmark law, our proposed changes will allow us to continue that progress and ensure all our nation’s students — no matter where they live, who they are, or whom they love — can learn, grow, and thrive in school,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement following the enactment of the new regulation.
“We welcome public comment on these critical regulations so we can further the Biden-Harris Administration’s mission of creating educational environments free from sex discrimination and sexual violence.”
Transgender participation in sports has become topic of controversy as biologically male athletes begin to regularly outperform biologically female competitors, with critics and scientists saying biological men have an unfair advantage over biological women.
Earlier this year competitive swimmer Lia Thomas, who is transgender, became the subject of controversy after winning against a biological woman. The same happened again only months later when a professional skate boarder came in second place behind a male-to-female transgender.
More recently, the NFL hired its first transgender cheerleader.
