Abbott Challenging Biden’s Title-IX Changes, Files Lawsuit

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has decided that his state will not be adopting changes to Title IX rules made by President Joe Biden’s administration.

Abbott says Texas won't accept Biden's 'ham-fisted' Title IX changes https://t.co/o5jUEx04Pa

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Abbott made his opinion on the changes clear in a letter sent to the White House on Monday, announcing that Texas was filing a lawsuit to challenge the new rules.

Clarifying that the purpose of Title IX was “to support the advancement of women academically and athletically” and emphasizing that the law was based on the premise that there are only two genders – male and female, Abbott said, “You have rewritten Title IX to force schools to treat boys as if they were girls and to accept every student’s self-declared gender identity.”

He then made it clear that the education agency in his state would not be implementing the new rules the Biden administration unveiled last month.

“This ham-handed effort to impose a leftist belief onto Title IX exceeds your authority as President. I am instructing the Texas Education Agency to ignore your illegal dictate,” he wrote, making a case that Biden overstepped his authority with the updated federal protection.

“Your rewrite of Title IX not only exceeds your constitutional authority, but it also tramples laws that I signed to protect the integrity of women’s sports by prohibiting men from competing against female athletes. Texas will fight to protect those laws and to deny your abuse of authority,” he added.

In a news release announcing his lawsuit filed in the Amarillo Division of the Northern District of Texas, he wrote, “Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at whim, destroying legal protections for women in furtherance of his radical obsession with gender ideology. This attempt to subvert federal law is plainly illegal, undemocratic, and divorced from reality.”

The Biden administration’s new rules, which expands the definition of gender-related discrimination to include gender identity, are said to be aimed at addressing concerns by LGBTQ+ people regarding gender identity protections of the group.

“No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love. Sadly, this happens all too often,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

Aside from Texas, officials in some other states like Georgia, Florida and Oklahoma have expressed opposition to the protections and said they would legally challenge the federal government on the issue.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has filed a lawsuit against the Biden admin, accusing the administration of “gutting commonsense provisions that protect female athletes.”

State attorney generals from Florida, South Carolina and Alabama have joined the suit.