Despite Gov. Greg Abbott saying Texas would ignore changes to Title IX that would threaten female students and athletes, Texas A&M University is reportedly “scrambling” to comply.
Last month, the Biden administration rolled out a nearly 1,500-page rewrite of Title IX rules—the federal civil rights law originally designed to prohibit sex-based discrimination in education.
The new version would add “gender identity” as a protected class, forcing schools to allow biological males to use female spaces. If a school refuses to comply, federal funding would be withheld.
In response, Gov. Greg Abbott instructed the Texas Education Agency, which oversees Texas’ K-12 schools, to ignore the rules which are set to go into effect on August 1. Additionally, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, calling the rewrite “plainly illegal, undemocratic, and divorced from reality.”
According to recent reporting by the student newspaper The Battalion, Texas A&M University is gearing up to implement the new rules.
In a recent article, Rick Olshak—the university system’s Director of Title IX and Student Conduct Compliance—lamented the fact that the new regulations did not go far enough in extending to transgender competition in athletics.
“The Biden administration left out the most polarizing piece of the regulation, which is transgender participation in athletics,” Olshak said. “So, we were very disappointed when we heard the rumor that this part would be left out. But we also understood that it is April before the election.”
Still, Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Smith said the university had “a lot of work to do” in order to comply.
“I would love to see the US Congress enact a law that solidifies a university’s responsibilities with respect to Title IX allegations. It is expensive, and laborious and confusing to students when we change our resolution process every time a new president issues new regulations,” said Smith.
Texas Scorecard contacted both Texas A&M and Gov. Greg Abbott but did not receive comment by publishing.
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