After the Biden administration rolled out a rewrite of Title IX rules, drastically changing it to give protections to biological men in women’s spaces, questions are circulating about how Texas will respond and protect women. 

Last week, the Biden administration released a nearly 1,500-page rewrite of Title IX rules—the federal civil rights law designed originally to prohibit sex-based discrimination in education.

The new version would add “gender identity” as a protected class. 

In response to the rewrite, Oklahoma’s State Superintendent Ryan Walters held a press conference informing people that they are “pursuing all action to oppose” the rewrite, and he has instructed all school districts not to comply with the new rule change.

“We will not allow boys in girls’ restrooms. We will not put boys in girls’ sports,” said Walters. “We will never allow Joe Biden to control our schools and indoctrinate our kids.”

In Texas, some lawmakers are also calling for action from Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R–Beaumont) and the​​ Texas Education Agency. 

On Tuesday, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) wrote a letter to House Speaker Dade Phelan calling on him to issue an interim charge for the Public Education Committee, on which Harrison serves, to “develop a plan to transition away from all K-12 federal education funding, protect Texans from these new Title IX requirements, and eliminate the crushing federal regulations which for decades have burdened our public schools.”

A couple of days later, State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R–Deer Park) sent a letter to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath calling on him to “direct superintendents to disregard Joe Biden’s unlawful changes to Title IX.”

“The Biden administration’s dismantling of Title IX is slated to come into effect on August 1st. As Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, I am calling on you to promptly direct all superintendents in Texas to ignore the proposed changes to Title IX. Additionally, I am calling on all Texas superintendents to publicly commit to disregarding this directive from the Biden administration,” wrote Cain. 

“Now is not the time for Texas to wait for litigation to save us from having to take a stand on this issue. Texas must send a clear message that we will not enact any policy changes in response to the new Title IX and instead will protect children,” he added. 

Brady Gray, president of Texas Family Project, told Texas Scorecard that the recent move by the Biden administration is an attack on women.

“The Biden administration continues to make a mockery of every policy they touch. This most recent rewriting of Title IX is not only an attack on women in college sports, it’s an attack on truth,” said Gray. “Men cannot be women and women cannot be men, this is among the most basic truths.”

Texas Scorecard reached out to Gov. Greg Abbott and the TEA, asking what they plan to do to protect female students, but did not receive a response by publication. 

Emily Medeiros

Emily graduated from the University of Oklahoma majoring in Journalism. She is excited to use her research and writing skills to report on important issues around Texas.

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