Florida governor pushes back on Biden Title IX rule changes

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said his state would not comply with federal changes to Title IX, which seeks to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. Last week, the Biden administration revealed changes to its rule for the law’s enforcement. The new rule changes how schools must treat LGBTQ individuals, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The new rule also requires schools to conduct quicker and more thorough investigations of sexual abuse allegations.

What are the new rules regarding LGBTQ individuals? The Department of Education, in an unofficial version of the final regulations, said it was expanding the rules of Title IX to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Under a major provision of the new Title IX rule, schools are required to cooperate with a person’s self-identified gender identity rather than his or her biological sex.

What’s DeSantis’s issue with the new regulations? DeSantis took issue with the administration’s decision to inject gender ideology into the rules surrounding education. The governor said he plans to support parents’ rights and not allow President Joe Biden to put men into women’s activities. The Biden administration’s rule eliminates protections for women and girls, according to a statement by Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s report in Schooled on the changes to Title IX and how women and girls are affected.