Democrats warn ignoring Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ students could cost Texas colleges billions

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Texas Democratic lawmakers sent a congressional inquiry letter to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Monday, warning public colleges that they could lose federal funding if they abide by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent order to ignore updated Title IX law language.

Title IX is a civil rights law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools or education programs that receive federal funding. New regulations set to go into effect Aug. 1 make it clear that Title IX also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under Title IX, LGBTQ+ students who experience discrimination are entitled to a response from their school; if their institution doesn't respond, the student may pursue a remedy from the federal government.

In the letter to the THECB, lawmakers wrote Abbott’s order “will not only nullify students’ and faculty members’ civil rights protections but also jeopardize these institutions’ ability to receive billions of dollars from the federal government when the new academic year begins.” Lawmakers also wrote, how following the governor’s order would lead to catastrophic consequences, writing “institutions would be unable to provide scholarships needed for most students to afford and access colleges and universities.”

In a statement from the governor's office, Abbott sent a letter to the state's public university systems and community colleges reiterating how he "already made clear Texas will not comply with President Joe Biden's rewrite of Title IX that contradicts the original purpose and spirit of the law to support the advancement of women."

Abbott also previously tweeted on X that he complained in a letter to the president that the revision of Title IX "forces schools to treat biological men as women" and that Texas would ignore the "illegal dictate." "The law was based on the fundamental premise that there are only two sexes—male and female. You have rewritten Title IX to force schools to treat boys as if they are girls and to accept every student’s self-declared gender identity. This ham-handed effort to impose a leftist belief onto Title IX exceeds your authority as President. I am instructing the Texas Education Agency to ignore your illegal dictate."

Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Dist. 30) led the letter to the THECB signed by other Texas Democrats, such as Al Green, Sylvia Garcia, and Sheila Jackson Lee. The letter reminded the committee that "as a body that regularly engages with the department for receipt of federal funds, you know that in order for educational institutions to receive federal money, they must comply with all federal laws—not just those the state’s governor likes."

The letter arrived the same day a Kentucky judge blocked the Title IX language updates in six states, posing another obstacle to the Biden administration's efforts to extend protections for LGBTQ+ students. The Kentucky judge's decision came a week after a North Texas judge ruled to strike down Title IX guidance in a suit filed by the state's Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton contended that the new federal law would force schools to allow men in women’s restrooms and on women’s sports teams and create issues with people who don’t use one’s preferred pronouns. This led him to sue President Joe Biden’s administration in April over the new regulations and file a motion to stop the agency’s action and for a preliminary injunction in May.

U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves described the rule as "arbitrary in the truest sense of the word" and granted a preliminary injunction to stop it in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. His decision was made a few days after one of the federal judges in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana temporarily halted the new rule's implementation.

At least seven legal challenges to President Joe Biden's new policy have been launched by the attorneys general of more than 20 states run by Republicans. Republicans contend that the regulation is a front to permit transgender girls to participate in sports on female teams. According to the Biden administration, athletes are exempt from the rule.

The Fairness Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in Kentucky, criticized the ruling. The executive director of the organization, Chris Hartman, stated that the decision “ignores basic truths about the transgender community and further places transgender kids in the crosshairs, who are among our smallest and most vulnerable populations.”

In several GOP states, transgender girls are prohibited from participating on girls' sports teams by law. These states contend that the new rule would make it more permissible. The Biden administration has suggested a separate rule that would forbid such absolute restrictions, but it said the newly finalized rule does not apply to athletics.

The Education Department said it would "continue to fight for every student” as it reviews the ruling.

“Title IX guarantees that no person experience sex discrimination in a federally funded educational environment,” the agency said in a statement. “The department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process."