Six Republican senators are contesting Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on proposed changes to Title IX regulations, citing a “disturbing likelihood” that his department’s reinterpretation of those rules would force radical sex and gender ideologies upon K-12 schools across the nation.
The Education Department in June announced an overhaul of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits “sex-based discrimination” in federally funded educational settings.
In part, the proposal broadens the definition of “sex,” and seeks to establish that failing to accommodate someone’s preferred gender identity in school activities or spaces is harmful enough to constitute a Title IX violation.
In their July 26 letter (pdf) to Cardona, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) argued against the changes, saying such a shift from biological sex to gender identity is particularly bad for women and girls, who will have to accept the presence of biological males in activities and spaces formerly exclusive to women….