Inside The Legal Fight to Save Title IX
WoLF has relentlessly filed Amicus Briefs, FOIA requests, petitions, and testimony at every opportunity to advocate for women’s sex-based rights
On October 2, WoLF filed a new amicus brief to the Tenth Circuit in the case of Kansas v. Dept of Ed. This latest filing is just one step in our years-long fight to save Title IX.
Here’s a breakdown of what this case means, and how we got here.
About the New Regulation
In April of this year, the Department of Education dropped new Title IX rules redefining sex to include gender identity. This sets up a conflict between women’s rights and the rights of males who want access to women’s sex-based rights. Unsurprisingly - men and boys come out on top every time. Under the new rule, men and boys will be able to identify into any sex-specific space or opportunity, including bathrooms, locker rooms, and more. Harassment on the basis of “gender identity” is also now a Title IX violation. This final rule also failed to protect women’s sports.
This new Title IX rule was a result of a four-year-long administrative and legal process — one that WoLF fought at every single step of the way.
How We Got Here
Title IX has been under attack for nearly a decade. In 2016, WoLF sued the Department of Justice and the Department of Education over changes to Title IX which would define “sex” to include “gender identity.”
Although those changes were ultimately reversed in 2017, in 2021 President Biden made it his Day 1 priority to permanently change the landscape of Title IX through an executive order signed only hours after he took office. The order required federal agencies and departments to take all steps to ensure that “federal anti-discrimination statutes that cover sex discrimination prohibit[s] discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
This executive order became the catalyst for the new rule we are still fighting today.
WoLF responded swiftly to the Executive Order. We submitted a petition for rulemaking, urging the Department of Education to protect Title IX's original intent: to defend the rights of women and girls. Read about our petition here. This prompted the Department to hold a hearing, and WoLF submitted both spoken and written testimony—advocating for women when the federal government sought to redefine us out of existence.
When the proposed new rule was made public, we mobilized people across the country to submit public comments against the Department of Education's changes. When it became clear those comments were ignored, WoLF submitted a FOIA request to uncover the inner workings behind this disastrous decision.
We’ve submitted multiple amicus briefs in crucial cases challenging the new rule, ensuring that feminist arguments are presented in these critical legal battles.
WoLF’s latest amicus brief in Kansas v. Dept of Ed directly challenges the Department of Education's reinterpretation of Title IX. This case has the opportunity to overturn the disastrous new Title IX rule in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.
As similar cases work their way up the courts in other parts of the country, the stage is being set for a fight at the Supreme Court — and WoLF is ready.
Support WoLF’s Fight To Save Title IX!
WoLF is the only feminist 501(c)(3) that has been relentlessly fighting on the ground for over a decade to keep women’s sex-based rights intact—and we will not back down. The fight to save Title IX is urgent. Women and girls are counting on us, and we can't afford to lose this battle. But we can't do it alone. We need your help to keep pushing back against policies that threaten to erase our rights.
If you believe in protecting women's rights in law, education, and sports, please consider making a donation today. Your support can make all the difference. Together, we can win this fight and secure a future where women and girls are truly protected.
Note: Many of our supporters choose to give from their assets — stock gifts, grants from Donor-Advised funds, or Qualified Charitable Distributions from their IRAs. Please consider whether these “tax-smart” methods work better for you!
