State Lawmakers to Dept. of Education: ‘Do Not Experiment with the Definition of Sex’

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Rebecca Stewart: 513-479-3335

State Lawmakers to Dept. of Education: ‘Do Not Experiment with the Definition of Sex’

WASHINGTON / May 23, 2022 – Lawmakers in Congress introduced bills this past Thursday with the purpose of clarifying the definition of “male” and “female.” (1) The Resolutions are being proposed to counter the controversial plan to the Department of Education to redefine sex to include: “sex stereotypes, sex-related characteristics (including intersex traits), pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” (2)

Senate Resolution 644 was introduced by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. House Resolution 1136 was spearheaded by Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona.

The Resolutions state, “for purposes of Federal law, a person’s ‘sex’ means his or her biological sex (either male or female) at birth.” The bills emphasize, “for purposes of Federal law addressing sex, the terms ‘woman’ and ‘girl’ refer to human females, and the terms ‘man’ and ‘boy’ refer to human males.” (3)

The Resolutions go on to explain, “there are important reasons to distinguish between the sexes with respect to athletics, prisons, domestic violence shelters, restrooms, and other areas.”

Recently, a coalition of 88 groups announced its opposition to the proposal of the U.S. Department of Education to release a new Title IX regulation (4). One of the concerns of coalition members centers on Title IX’s proposed redefinition of sex.

For example, the letter from 15 Attorneys General warned, “Adding gender identity to the definition of “sex” in Title IX would have a detrimental effect on the great strides made over the last 50 years to create equal athletic opportunity [for women].” (5)

The Title IX Coalition noted, “we are alarmed by the administration’s extremist position that ED should extend Title IX, by regulatory fiat, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.” (6)

A third letter from 27 parental rights organization emphasized unequivocally, “we vehemently disagree with the Department’s purported incorporation of “gender identity” into Title IX regulations.” (7)

SAVE urges state lawmakers to tell the Department of Education to leave the Title IX’s definition of sex the same as it has remained over the past 50 years. Contact Secretary Miguel Cardona:

Telephone: (202) 401-3000
Fax: (202) 260-7867
Email: ocr@ed.gov
Street address: Department of Education; 400 Maryland Ave, SW; Washington, DC 20202

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