Cardona institutes new Title IX rules
On April 19, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona revised the Title IX policies to include protections for LGBTQ+ students and sexual assault survivors. The Biden administration issued two new regulations, extending the scope of Title IX protections.
The first regulation establishes provisions for transgender students, ensuring that transgender students should not be treated differently from their fellow students. The new rule outlaws any schoolwide policies that can be considered discriminatory toward transgender students. Violations of the new rule include banning students from using facilities corresponding to their gender identity, ignoring a student’s chosen pronouns and refusing to address bullying related to a student’s gender identity.
The Biden administration also restructured the system that colleges use to respond to sexual assault cases. Previously, students accused of sexual assault could cross-examine their accuser during the college’s Title IX proceedings. Now, the Biden administration has created alternatives that allow investigators to question witnesses separately. The new system also changed how evidence is weighed, suggesting colleges use a “preponderance of the evidence” standard. As a result, investigators need to prove that the alleged assault is more likely than not.
Cardona states that the new regulations will make schools safer for all students. He reiterates the importance of diversity and differences in the school system.
“Our nation’s educational institutions should be places where we not only accept differences but celebrate them,” Cardona said.
The Title IX provisions received pushback from conservative lawmakers, who believe the Biden administration is pushing a political agenda. Rep. Virginia Foxx argued that the provision for transgender students supports liberal ideology.
“This final rule dumps kerosene on the already raging fire that is Democrats’ contemptuous culture war that aims to radically redefine sex and gender,” Foxx said in a statement.
