#SaveTitleIX #SaveWomensSports

Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) submitted a Petition for Rulemaking to the Department of Education to protect single-sex spaces, women’s and girls’ sports, and free speech on campus. 

Background

On President Biden’s first day in office, he issued an executive order directing federal agencies to do a review of rulemaking to protect “gender identity” in laws. Both the White House and the incoming Secretary of Education have confirmed that they intend to end single-sex sports by opening up women’s and girls’ competitions to male athletes who say they identify as “female.” The Department of Education will also likely interpret this executive order as an end to single-sex intimate spaces such as locker rooms, bathrooms, and student housing.

Even prior to the executive order, there have been many incidents of faculty and staff being fired, disciplined, or otherwise punished for raising concerns about or arguing in favor of single-sex spaces and women’s sports.

This is all occurring despite the fact that voters across the United States agree with protecting women and girls’ single-sex spaces and sports. Fewer than one-third of Democrats support these sweeping actions to eliminate women’s rights.

Biden’s executive order gave agencies 100 days (until April 30, 2021) to fulfil their rulemaking requirement. In the meantime, concerned parties are able to submit a petition for rulemaking which is an opportunity to ask for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule. Petitions for rulemaking can be beneficial for both the petitioner and the agency involved—the petitioner has a chance to make their views known to the agency, and the agency hears from a perspective they might not have otherwise considered. 

Agencies are required to consider and respond to the petition “within a reasonable time” and can either grant the petition or deny it in whole or in part. If the petition is denied, the agency must provide an explanation.

If the petition is rejected, the decision may be subject to judicial review and the agency must provide “an appropriately reasoned statement of the grounds for denial.” In some cases, courts have found agencies’ denials of petitions to be in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, and the courts have remanded the denial to the agency to reconsider the petition.

WoLF Petition for Rulemaking

WoLF submitted a petition for rulemaking to the Department of Education on Feb. 8 regarding the interpretation of Title IX statutes which prevent discrimination in federally-funded education “on the basis of sex.”

The 27-page document titled, Petition For Rulemaking To Protect The Title IX Rights Of Women And Girls, states:

“Single-sex spaces (e.g., sports, intimate facilities, housing) are by definition “single-sex spaces” only if sex, not gender identity, remains the sole relevant characteristic. If a space ostensibly dedicated to being single-sex is also separated based on gender identity, the space ceases to be single-sex... Because the purpose underlying single-sex spaces is to promote the safety, dignity, and equal opportunity of women and girls, it follows that eliminating single-sex spaces will cause great harm to women and girls… That harm to women and girls is not avoided just because the effective elimination of single-sex spaces results from separating spaces based on gender identity." (p. 15-16)

The petition requests that the agency affirm that Title IX will be enforced on the basis of sex, as detailed by the Office of Civil Rights in January, rather than “gender identity.” The specific requests for rulemaking in the petition include:

1. “Sex” under Title IX refers to biological sex.

2. “Gender identity” is “a person’s belief that they have an internal sense of self-identification as male, female, both, or neither, that is incongruent with one’s sex.”

3. Single-sex spaces and services, including sports, are provided by sex and not on the basis of a person’s belief about their sex.

4. True statements about biological sex, based in material reality, are protected by the first amendment.

The proposed provisions put forth in the petition reflect an appropriate implementation of the executive order. They protect students who have a “gender identity” from discrimination while ensuring women and girls continue to have equal access to educational opportunities.

The petition also outlines WoLF’s position as a concerned party:

“WoLF and its members recognize the grave threat to this mission posed by trends in law toward embracing a vague concept of “gender identity” in a manner that overrides constitutional and statutory protections that are explicitly based on “sex.” If, as a matter of law, “sex” is not acknowledged to be an immutable biological characteristic, and instead the characteristic of “sex” is replaced with or overridden by a subjective, self-declared, mutable personal belief in one’s “identity” – then the law will have abandoned a century-long effort to affirm the rights of women and girls to dignity, autonomy, and opportunities equal to those of men and boys.” (p. 7)

In a press release Wednesday morning, Natasha Chart, WoLF Executive Director, said, “This petition is an important first step towards holding the Biden administration accountable for how their policies will harm women and girls. Feminists are stepping up to defend the rights that previous generations fought for.”

Next Steps: Take Action!

This petition begins a formal “rule-making process” to which the agency has 60 days to respond. 

Write to Congress asking them to support the petition
While Congress doesn’t have a direct role in federal agency rulemaking, lawmakers can put pressure on agencies to interpret legislation a certain way. Congress also has the ability to conduct oversight hearings regarding agency actions.

Take action today by writing your Representatives and Senators and asking them to support our petition for rulemaking. Use our form to automatically submit a letter to all of your representatives in Congress:

Stay tuned for future actions

If the Department proposes our rule, there may be a period calling for public comment.. Stay tuned for updates on the status of the petition and how you can help us put pressure on the administration at every step of the process.

Donate to WoLF

This year, mounting a legal resistance to "gender identity" laws proposed by the incoming administration is going to be more important than ever. If we don't stand up to these policies now, an entire generation of girls will be affected.

With this petition, our work is only just beginning. We’ll likely follow up on their response with a series of legal actions, all which involve significant cost. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to WoLF to support our work defending the rights of women and girls.

Petition Details:

Petition For Rulemaking To Protect The Title IX Rights Of Women And Girls

Docket No. ED-2020-OGC-0163

Submitted: 2/8/21