The White House is defending its proposed changes to Title IX rules that would ban colleges and high schools from banning biological men who are transgender from competing against women in athletic sports.
The proposed regulations seek to clarify Title IX’s application to sex-related criteria that limit or deny a student’s eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity.
Participation in school athletics provides valuable physical, social, academic, and mental health benefits to students.
The proposed rule affirms that students benefit from the chance to join a school sports team to learn about teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness.
The proposed rule would establish that policies violate Title IX when they categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are.
The proposed rule also recognizes that in some instances, particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments, some schools may adopt policies that limit transgender students’ participation.
The proposed rule would provide schools with a framework for developing eligibility criteria that protect students from being denied equal athletic opportunity while giving schools the flexibility to develop their own participation policies.