Biden admin withdraws proposed rule that would outlaw bans on trans athletes in girls' sports

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., responds to the NCAA’s policy allowing transgender female athletes to compete in women’s sports, during an appearance on ‘The Faulkner Focus.’ 

President Joe Biden's Department of Education has given up on a proposed rule change that would have punished schools for preventing trans athletes from competing in women's sports. 

The Department of Education released a docket on Friday announcing its withdrawal of the proposition. The Biden administration had proposed the rule change in April 2023. The proposition was titled "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams"

The rule would have officially outlawed individual states from banning participation in single-sex sports by gender identity rather than just sex. There are 23 states in the U.S. that have legislation in place to restrict trans athletes from competing as females in public school sports. 

The docket claims that the original intent of Biden's proposal was to "propose a regulatory standard under Title IX that would govern a recipient’s adoption or application of sex-related criteria that would limit or deny a student’s eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity."

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The department claims that its decision to withdraw comes after hearing testimony during the comment period, but that ongoing lawsuits have also played into the decision. 

"The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits