A\u00a0Biden administration proposal\u00a0to forbid outright bans on transgender athletes sparked outrage from conservative leaders while also angering trans rights activists who note schools could still prevent some athletes from participating on teams that align with their gender identity.
The\u00a0proposed rule, which still faces a lengthy approval process, establishes that blanket bans, like those that have been approved in at least 20 states, would\u00a0violate Title IX, the landmark gender-equity legislation enacted in 1972. But schools that receive federal funding could still adopt policies that limit transgender students\u2019 participation, particularly in more competitive high school and college sports.
Under the proposal, it would be much more difficult for schools to ban, for example, a transgender girl in elementary school from playing on a girls basketball team. But it would also leave room for schools to develop policies that prohibit trans athletes from playing on more competitive teams if those policies are designed to ensure fairness or prevent sports-related injuries.
Imara Jones, a trans woman who created \u201cThe Anti-Trans Hate Machine\u201d podcast, blasted the proposal, saying President Joe Biden is attempting to \u201cstraddle the fence\u201d on a human rights issue ahead of an election year by giving legal recourse to schools that bar some trans athletes from competition.
\u201cThe Biden Administration framed their proposal as a ban on blanket discrimination against trans athletes,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut actually, it provides guidelines for how schools and universities can ban trans athletes legally.\u201d
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, also offered pointed criticism,\u00a0saying in a tweet\u00a0that the plan was \u201cindefensible and embarrassing.\u201d
Erin Reed, a prominent trans activist and researcher, said the proposal \u201calarmingly\u201d echoes right-wing talking points, which argue that trans participation could increase injuries and take away scholarship opportunities from female athletes who are cisgender, meaning their gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. She worries school boards and lawmakers will use it to justify bans.
Extensive research is virtually nonexistent when it comes to determining whether adolescent trans girls have a clear athletic advantage over cisgender girls.
\u201cI can\u2019t read this any other way than a betrayal,\u201d Reed\u00a0said in a tweet. \u201cThis entire document is worse than doing nothing.\u201d
The U.S. Department of Education declined to comment Friday on criticisms from trans rights advocates.
Sean Ebony Coleman, founder of the LGBTQ+ center Destination Tomorrow in New York, said policymakers \u2014 particularly on a national level \u2014 need to rule out any option for trans people to be further ostracized.
\u201cWhile it hypothetically prevents across-the-board bans, it offers enough gray area for discrete gender policing and demonization to occur, specifically on a local level,\u201d Coleman said.
Still, some transgender athletes welcomed the proposal as an important first step toward protecting trans kids\u2019 access to sports.
\u201cI would love to see protections expanded to include elite and collegiate sports, but this seems like a good start,\u201d said Iszac Henig, a trans man and competitive swimmer at Yale University. \u201cTrans athletes should have the ability to compete on the team of their choice if their athletic skills allow it.\u201d
Some LGBTQ+ organizations, such as the nonprofit GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders,\u00a0applauded the proposal\u00a0for allowing schools to adopt what it considers \u201creasonable policies for inclusion of transgender athletes that take into account differences between sports and across levels of competition.\u201d
Doriane Coleman, a law professor at Duke University, said the proposal allows schools to \u201cstill choose to have male and female sports teams\u201d and makes sense compared with the \u201cone-size-fits-all approach\u201d found in some states.
A way that the federal government, states and advocacy groups can avoid \u201cpiecemeal litigation\u201d is by making clear \u201cthere is a body of evidence to support generalizable sex-specific eligibility standards for each sport at each level of development,\u201d Coleman said.
The proposal was assailed by many Republican leaders who said they were ready to fight the plan in court.
\u201cSouth Dakota will not allow this to stand,\u201d Gov. Kristi Noem\u00a0tweeted. \u201cWe will lead. We will defend our laws.\u201d
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement suggesting the state might also try to challenge the federal rule. Alabama lawmakers in 2021 approved legislation that bans trans women and girls from participating on female sports team in K-12 schools. It was also one of 20 states that filed a lawsuit in 2021 seeking to halt directives that extend federal sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ people.
\u201cI have made myself abundantly clear to the Biden Administration that he will NOT impose his radical policies on Alabama athletes. He will NOT destroy athletic competition for our young women & girls. In Alabama our law protects girls\u2019 sports. Stay tuned!\u201d Marshall said in a statement.
Selina Soule, a former high school track player in Connecticut, who joined others\u00a0in suing\u00a0over the state\u2019s policy allowing two transgender girls to compete against them, denounced the proposal.
\u201cI never stood a chance when I competed with them,\u201d she said of trans girls. \u201cWomen deserve fair competition.\u201d
The public will have 30 days to comment on the proposal after it is published in the Federal Register. After that, the Education Department will review the comments and decide whether any changes are needed before issuing a final rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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