May 16, 2024
RE: Establishment of a House Task Force to End the Weaponization of the Department of Education
Speaker Mike Johnson
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Johnson:
On April 19, the Department of Education released its new Title IX regulation that changes the definition of “sex.” This new policy will cause harmful, systemic effects on children, schools, families, and ultimately to our entire society.
Response to the new regulation has been extremely negative.[1],[2],[3], [4],
In particular:
- Seven lawsuits from 22 states have been filed in federal courts to block the regulation. [5]
- Impressively, one of the lawsuits features 17 school districts in Louisiana as plaintiffs. [6]
- Numerous states already have declared they will not follow the new policy, including AR, FL, LA, NE, OK, and SC. [7]
The excesses of Title IX have become a bi-partisan concern. A recent poll of 1,600 registered voters revealed a majority of persons now support state laws that would require children to wait until age 18 before they can receive transgender treatments: Republicans: 73%, Democrats: 61%.[8]
On May 9, representatives from several member-organizations of the Title IX Network [9] held meetings with staffers of 18 Members of the House of Representatives. The purpose of the meetings was to recommend the establishment of a Task Force of key House Members to confer on strategies to end the weaponization of the Department of Education.
During these meetings, we recommended that the Task Force consider these three broad options:
- Major appropriations reductions
- Major reorganization of the Department of Education
- Complete abolition of the Department of Education
Staffer response to this recommendation was uniformly and strongly positive.
During the meetings, we urged that the Task Force be established now, before the November elections.
We also highlighted that the House Appropriations Committee had succeeded in approving important budget reductions in its FY24 Labor-HHS-Education bill:
- Section 244: Prohibits the implementation of Biden’s Executive Order on “Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.”
- Section 311: Prohibits the Department of Education from implementing the proposed Title IX regulations that were issued in July 2022 and in April 2023.
- Section 312: Protects religious liberty in schools.
- Section 534: Prohibits the use of federal funds for hormone therapy or surgical treatment for “gender-affirming care.”
- Section 535: Prohibits the implementation of any other “diversity, equity, inclusion office, program, or training.”
Although these cuts did not survive to the final approved version of the Labor-HHS-Education bill, they represent an important first step of the process of restoring accountability to the Department of Education.
You may be aware that the Heritage Foundation already has developed a roadmap for this process.[10] This document may be a good starting point for the Task Force’s deliberations.
Based on the positive responses during our May 9 meetings, the following member-organizations of the Title IX Network hereby request that you promptly establish a Task Force to end the weaponization of the Department of Education.
We look forward to working with you. If you have further questions, feel free to contact Bob Thompson at rthompson@saveservices.org
Sincerely,
National Groups (31)
SAVE (Stop Abusive and Violent Environments)
AFA Action
Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
AMAC Action
American Association of Evangelicals
American Association of Senior Citizens
American Life & Liberty PAC
America Values
Awake Americans
Catholics Count
Center for Equal Opportunity
Center for Military Readiness
Conservatives of Faith
ConservativeHQ.com
Eagle Forum
Global Strategic Alliance
Katartismos Global
Law Offices of Philip A. Byler
Less Government
Men and Women for a Representative Democracy in America
Mission America
National Association of Scholars
No Left Turn in Education
Palm Beach Freedom Institute
Project 21 Black Leadership Network
Radiance Foundation
60 Plus Association
Strategic Coalitions and Initiatives, LLC
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
United Against Racism in Education
Women for Democracy in America
State Groups (21):
American Life & Liberty PAC, Virginia
Awake Illinois
Child Protection League Action
Eagle Forum of Alabama
Eagle Forum of Michigan
Independent Women’s Network, Bismarck Chapter
Louisiana Save Our Schools
Middle Resolution
Moms for Liberty Howard County, Maryland
Moms for Liberty Talbot County, Maryland
Ohio Value Voters
Parents on the Level
Protect Ohio Children Coalition
Roughrider Policy Center
Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity
Texas Eagle Forum
Texas Freedom Coalition
Utah Citizens for the Constitution
Utah Eagle Forum
Virginia Association of Scholars
Wisconsin Family Action
Cc: Virginia Foxx, Chairperson, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Cc: Other Republican Members of the House of Representatives
Links:
[1] https://nypost.com/2024/04/23/opinion/bidens-new-title-ix-rules-prove-its-time-for-the-doe-to-be-doa/
[2] https://www.newsweek.com/biden-admin-weaponizing-title-ix-promote-fringe-sexual-politics-opinion-1894635
[3] https://thefederalist.com/2023/04/14/from-title-ix-to-title-none-biden-kills-womens-sports-and-safety/
[4] https://thewordofdamocles.substack.com/p/another-biden-administration-attack
[5] https://www.saveservices.org/2022-policy/abolish-doe/
[6] https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/file-stamped-louisiana-v-u-s-dep-t-of-education-title-ix-662fda6716ff7.pdf
[7] https://www.saveservices.org/2024/05/naked-attempt-to-strong-arm-our-schools-five-lawsuits-seek-to-block-sweeping-title-ix-rule/
[8] https://www.dailywire.com/news/majority-of-voters-support-state-laws-protecting-children-from-trans-procedures-poll
[9] https://www.saveservices.org/2022-Policy/
[10] https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_CHAPTER-11.pdf