President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration this week withdrew legal views filed by the Trump administration in hot-button cases in two statesthat had argued transgender female athletes should not permitted to compete in girls鈥� or women鈥檚 sports.
The disputes involve transgender-supportive sports rules in Connecticut and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, an Idaho law that bars transgender female athletes from participating in girls鈥� sports.
In the Connecticut matter, the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 office for civil rights informed parties that it was withdrawing an OCR letter issued last year that had interpreted Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and its regulations to mean that transgender female athletes could not take the spots of 鈥渂iologically female鈥� participants in track and field or other sports.
The Trump administration had issued its letter in the Connecticut case on May 15, though a became the operative one. Those letters said that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference鈥檚 policy of 鈥減ermitting the participation of biologically male students in girls interscholastic track 鈥� denied female student-athletes benefits and opportunities鈥� under Title IX, which bars discrimination based on sex in federally funded education programs.
In , the Biden administration said that it was withdrawing the Trump administration鈥檚 OCR stance for two reasons. First, the OCR interpretation had not gone through the proper review required for a guidance document on a regulatory matter. Secondly, the new letter referred to an executive order signed by Biden on Jan. 20 that stressed the new administration鈥檚 efforts to combat discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
The new letter says the Education Department will review the OCR complaints filed by cisgender female athletes against the CIAC and several Connecticut school districts 鈥減ursuant鈥� to the president鈥檚 executive order.
鈥淭herefore, the [Aug. 31] Revised Letter鈥檚 statement of OCR鈥檚 interpretation of Title IX and its implementing regulations should not be relied upon in this or any other matter,鈥� said the new letter, signed by Suzanne B. Goldberg, the Education Department鈥檚 acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based legal organization that filed the OCR complaints on behalf of three cisgender female athletes, criticized the Biden administration鈥檚 action.
鈥淒efying common sense, the U.S. Department of Education under the Biden administration has abandoned its support for the deserving female athletes who have been sidelined and outpaced by males dominating girls鈥� sports,鈥� Christiana Holcomb, an ADF legal counsel, said in a statement. 鈥淏ut the government鈥檚 politically motivated reversal can鈥檛 change biological reality or the correct interpretation of the law.鈥�
The cisgender girls, with the support of the ADF, also sued the CIAC over its transgender-inclusive policy. That case, , is pending in federal district court in Hartford. The Biden administration filed papers, also on Feb. 23, in that court withdrawing a federal statement of interest that the Trump administration had filed.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the two the two transgender athletes at the center of the debate in Connecticut, Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, praised the Biden administration鈥檚 moves.
鈥淥ur clients Andraya and Terry ran on the girls鈥� team because they are girls,鈥� said Chase Strangio, the deputy director for Trans Justice with the ACLU. 鈥淭hey had no other options and ran because they loved the sport and were affirmed and celebrated by their schools, coaches, and teammates. The Biden administration鈥檚 actions show that transgender students are protected from discrimination under federal law.鈥�
Withdrawing From Idaho Case
In a related move, the Biden administration on Tuesday filed a statement with a federal appeals court withdrawing a brief that the Trump administration had filed last year supporting an Idaho law that bars transgender female athletes from participating on girls鈥� or women鈥檚 school athletic teams.
A federal district judge in Idaho last year issued an injunction blocking the law, ruling that it likely violated the 14th Amendment鈥檚 equal-protection clause. The U.S. Department of Justice last year supporting Idaho鈥檚 appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in San Francisco.
鈥淪tates may require separate athletic teams for biological females and biological males because the sexes are dissimilarly situated In athletics,鈥� said the Trump administration brief in Hecox v. Little.
In , Pamela S. Karlan, the principal deputy assistant attorney general, told the 9th Circuit court that 鈥渁fter the change in administration, the government has reconsidered the matter and hereby notifies the court that it withdraws its amicus brief.鈥�
The Biden administration鈥檚 moves come as transgender issues in education remain a topic of intense debate. Republicans on the Senate education committee this month questioned Miguel Cardona, Biden鈥檚 nominee for secretary of education, about transgender student rights. And lawmakers in at least 10 states are considering restrictions on transgender female sports participation similar to Idaho鈥檚 law.
