Trump's Title IX Announcement Is Cruel. But It Does Not Change The Law

This week’s announcement that the administration is rescinding Biden-era regulations enumerating protections for LGBTQ students is yet another example of the federal government’s unrelenting effort to bully transgender young people, particularly as elections approach. But while this latest attack is gratuitous and cruel, the rescission does not actually change the law; schools can and should continue to include transgender students equally in all educational programs. Title IX, the landmark 1972 law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools, is often associated with efforts to even the playing field in sports, but the statute addresses all sex discrimination in education from the classroom to the teacher’s lounge to the basketball court. In 2024, the Biden Administration took important steps to ensure that LGBTQ students were fully protected. While I would argue that the Biden Title IX rule fell short in some respects, it also included comprehensive regulations prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. Those regulations were blocked in court, however, and never took effect; instead, the government reverted to a 2020 rule issued under then-Educat...