Biden admin withdraws proposed Title IX changes that would have forced schools to let boys play girls’ sports

"The US Department of Education (Department) is withdrawing the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled 'Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams' published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2023. the proposed rule would have amended the regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX)," the notice of withdrawal stated.

The department said that it had reviewed and considered all comments that were submitted during the comment period, with some commenters expressing "general support for the proposed regulation," while others "asked the Department to modify the proposed regulation to provide for more students to participate on a sex-separate athletic team consistent with their gender identity, particularly at the elementary and secondary school levels."

Yet other commenters "opposed the proposed regulation in its entirety and asked the Department to withdraw the Athletics NPRM. Numerous commenters expressed concerns about the application of the proposed regulation in practice, arguing that the proposed regulation was unclear or too complex for recipients to implement, and many commenters offered alternative regulatory text for the Department’s consideration to clarify, simplify, elaborate on, or substantively change the focus and impact of the proposed rule."

The department said that it "recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts. In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time."

This comes as multiple lawsuits have been filed for Title IX violations against teams with biological males on them or against biological male athletes. In November, female volleyball players in the Mountain West Conference filed a suit against San Jose State University after trans-identified male player Blaire Flemming played on the women's team against female players and made it to the conference championships with minimal losses during the season. San Jose State ultimately lost to Colorado State in the finals.