Presidential Candidates -- Republican and Democratic -- Denounce Biden Title IX Plan

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Rebecca Hain: 513-479-3335

Presidential Candidates — Republican and Democratic — Denounce Biden Title IX Plan

WASHINGTON / September 25, 2023 – The Biden Department of Education released a proposed Title IX regulation in 2022 that would redefine sex to include “gender identity.” (1) The proposal has faced strong criticism from lawmakers, attorneys general, and others (2).

A number of presidential candidates, Republican and Democratic, have spoken out against the Biden plan, as well:

Ron DeSantis: DeSantis called Biden “off his rocker” over the Title IX proposal, vowing his administration will be “fighting on that.” (3) In 2021, Gov. DeSantis signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which prohibits biological male students from participating in women’s sports (4).

Robert Kennedy: “I am against people participating in women’s sports who are biologically male. I think women have worked too hard to develop women’s sports over the past 30 years, I watched it happen, and I don’t think that’s fair.” (5)

Mike Pence: Pence has promised to “Eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and convert some of its current budget to grants to states and localities, providing maximum flexibility in how to deploy federal dollars.” (6)

Vivek Ramaswamy: “The U.S. Dept of Education strikes again – now saying local schools can’t stop boys from competing in girls’ sports. It’s appalling that we spend *$83 billion per year* on this toxic agency. It’s rotten waste. That’s why I’ll shut it down without apology.” (7)

Tim Scott: In 2022, Scott introduced the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, which would bar schools from allowing a student to use a different name, pronoun, restroom or locker room without the knowledge of their parents (8).

Donald Trump: “On Day One, I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called ‘gender-affirming care,’…we will promote positive education about the nuclear family…I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the U.S. government are male and female…the bill will also make clear that Title IX prohibits men from participating in women’s sports.” (9)

The Title IX Network was formed in 2022 to oppose the Biden Title IX proposal, and now consists of 217 organizations working at the national, state, and local levels (10).

Last week, 59 member organizations called for the resignation of Assistant Education Secretary Catherine Lhamon for violations of her Oath of Office in connection with her efforts to change Title IX. The Statement was released at a press conference held in Washington, DC (11).

Lawmakers and others who support the resignation of Catherine Lhamon should express their concerns directly to the Department of Education: alejandro.reyes@ed.gov

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