The Biden administration is delaying its overhaul of Trump-era Title IX regulations despite progressive pressure to get it done.
The deadline to finalize proposed updates to the federal civil rights law against sex-based discrimination was pushed back until March 2024, approximately one year after Biden missed the first deadline, according to The Hill.
More than 60 House Democrats sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Nov. 30 asking that the update be finalized and expressing outrage about the delay, according to the outlet. The update would make policies preventing transgender athletes from participating on sports teams opposite to their biological sex a violation of Title IX.
“It’s critically important that the Biden administration strengthen [Title IX] protections by finalizing these rules,” Rep. Becca Balint, one of the letter’s signatories, said. “These protections must make it crystal clear that the Department of Education will protect sexual assault survivors, will stand for inclusivity for trans and nonbinary youth and will protect all of us from discrimination.”
Biden proposed a “quick end” to Trump’s Title IX regulations during his 2020 presidential campaign. The prolonged delay of promised updates may hinder his re-election bid. (RELATED: Biden Admin Plans To Roll Back Trump-Era Free Speech Protections In Education)
The Biden administration’s Title IX rewrite is a direct attack on women’s rights.@Riley_Gaines_ has more courage than many of our elected officials, who let men compete in women’s sports and invade female-only spaces instead of standing up to pressure from left-wing activists. pic.twitter.com/muptQ768cn
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 5, 2023
“Students are really losing faith in Biden and the Biden administration,” Grasso Levine, manager of “Know Your IX,” said. “We’re about to be into year four of a promise being made and not being realized, and I think that’s definitely something that we as advocates are concerned about as well — these continued broken promises.”
“We never imagined being in this position,” Levine said. “It’s incredibly disappointing to not see these new regulations be made a priority in the way that [the administration] had promised they would.”