House Republicans vote to overturn Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students
The Biden administration’s new regulations extend sex nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ+ people.
Republican members of Congress voted July 11 to oppose new Department of Education rules against sex discrimination in schools, programs and activities that receive federal funding.
In April 2024, President Joe Biden’s administration implemented new regulations for implementing Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in education, extending the nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ+ individuals.
The administration’s final regulations came after the release of proposed regulations in July 2022. The Department of Education reviewed more than 240,000 comments from the public before releasing the final regulations, according to a fact sheet from the department.
“For more than 50 years, Title IX has promised an equal opportunity to learn and thrive in our nation’s schools free from sex discrimination,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in an April announcement. “These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming, and respect their rights.”
While the regulations make a number of changes to the enforcement of Title IX, including requiring schools to respond promptly to claims of sex discrimination and offer support to claimants, Republicans’ opposition to them center on their prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In a 210-205 vote, House Republicans moved to overturn the new regulations and return those implemented under former President Donald Trump.
The resolution has little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. But that didn’t stop House Republicans from taking to the floor on June 10 to decry the new Title IX regulations.