Sarah Huckabee Sanders Signs Executive Order Opposing Title IX Changes

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Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued an executive order on Thursday that is designed to protect female athletes in Arkansas against unfair competition. She is the first female governor to do so.

This wouldn’t be necessary but Dementia Joe made changes to the U.S. Department of Education Title IX rule. Sanders’s executive order opposes trans athletes in women’s sports. Biden’s new Title IX protects LGBTQ students but it kicked the trans athletes in sports issue down the road. Typical Biden.

In 1972 Title IX was enacted to outlaw sex discrimination in federally funded programs and expand educational opportunities for women and girls.

It’s all about dismantling what former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos did during her time in office. She added new protections for students accused of sexual misconduct. I guess Biden wants to go back to the bad old days of young men being accused of sexual assault though they were not. 

The administration originally planned to include a new policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes, but that provision was put on hold. The delay is widely seen as a political maneuver during an election year in which Republicans have rallied around bans on transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

Instead, Biden is officially undoing sexual assault rules put in place by his predecessor and current election-year opponent, former President Donald Trump. The final policy drew praise from victims’ advocates, while Republicans said it erodes the rights of accused students.

The new rule makes “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.

I’m in favor of believing women who claim they were sexually assaulted by having a school conduct an investigation. As a boy mom, I remember cases in the news where male students were assumed guilty until proven innocent and not given a fair shake. That isn’t fair to them. 

Leaving out guidance on transgender athletes in sports is cowardly but expected. The November election is on the horizon and everything Biden does is politically motivated. Biden is scared to do anything that might rile up potential voters. If he does what has to be done – leave women’s sports to women, not allow men to participate – then he would anger Democrats. If he bows to social pressure and pretends it is perfectly normal for men to compete against women in women’s sports, he will anger Republicans, especially Nikki Haley voters he is courting. So, he’s not doing anything right now. 

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

The 1972 law doesn’t directly address the issue, but the new rules clarify that Title IX also forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek recourse from the federal government.

Many Republicans say Congress never intended such protections under Title IX. A federal judge previously blocked Biden administration guidance to the same effect after 20 Republican-led states challenged the policy.

Those mean Republicans. 

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is the chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. She said new regulation threatens decades of advancement for women and girls. “This final rule dumps kerosene on the already raging fire that is Democrats’ contemptuous culture war that aims to radically redefine sex and gender.” 

Yep. Democrats love a social experiment, never mind the harm it might cause. More government control, more good. 

Many of the changes are meant to ensure that schools and colleges respond to complaints of sexual misconduct. In general, the rules widen the type of misconduct that institutions are required to address, and it grants more protections to students who bring accusations.

Chief among the changes is a wider definition of sexual harassment. Schools now must address any unwelcome sex-based conduct that is so “severe or pervasive” that it limits a student’s equal access to an education.

Governor Sanders said Arkansas will not comply with the changes.

“It’s a document that should scare every woman and every man in America,” Sanders said, adding that it is an effort by the Biden administration “to erase women completely.”

“My message to Joe Biden and the federal government means we will not comply,” the governor said.

The executive order reinforces Arkansas laws, including the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and the Given Name Act, that discourage gender identity changes past those assigned at birth.

Riley Gaines was there to see Sanders sign the executive order. She called the Title IX changes “Orwellian” because she said they would “force schools to replace women.”

Gaines issued a statement. 

“Governor Sanders is taking decisive action to protect Title IX, prevent unjust sex discrimination, save women’s sports, and protect our privacy. In signing this executive order, inspired by our Women’s Bill of Rights, Governor Sanders has proven herself a true champion of women.”

Arkansas joins other states that have enacted measures to legally define sex consistent with science. Aren’t we supposed to follow the science? Other states include Kansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Idaho. Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi have also advanced legislation inspired by the Women’s Bill of Rights.