Today is the 51st anniversary of Title IX, the law that ensures that girls and women have equal access in education – including in sports. Prior to Title IX, girls often lacked the same access to sports teams and opportunities as their male peers. They might have to deal with inferior equipment and practice schedules – if they had a girls’ team at all

For some perspective on the significance of Title IX, consider this stat: before Title IX, 1 in 27 girls played sports, while today that number is 2 in 5. Talk about a difference! 

What does Title IX mean for female athletes? And what did girls’ sports look like before Title IX? Watch this short video we received in 2020 from Pat McWethy, a fellow Family Policy Foundation reader. 

Thanks to Title IX, the top-of-mind threat to girls’ sports today is not whether a typical public school will offer a program. It’s the fact that even though girls have their own sports, they face the real possibility that a male athlete (who has physical advantages) might join the team and take a roster spot, a championship title, or even a scholarship that was meant for a female.  

And that’s why we can’t talk about Title IX without talking about Save Girls’ Sports. At Family Policy Alliance, we were proud to partner with our state ally, Idaho Family Policy Center, to pass the first-ever Save Girls’ Sports law that ensures girls’ sports are reserved just for girls. In the 3 years since then, over 20 states have passed laws to ensure that girls’ sports are reserved just for girls. And, more than half of states have introduced the legislation, even if it didn’t pass. Americans are united on this critical issue. 

The Biden Administration has gone all-out to undermine our success. A new rule proposes to re-interpret Title IX as a way to directly threaten schools that abide by Save Girls’ Sports laws enacted in these 22 states – nearly half the country.

Our sister entity, Family Policy Alliance, submitted an official comment on the rule and encouraged you all to do the same. The end result? Over 4,000 of you spoke out! Now, the Biden Administration has delayed making their final decision on the rule – likely because they received so many comments from people like you! (Something you can be sure we’ll keep you posted about.) 

In the meanwhile, we’re celebrating Title IX, female athletes, and the states that are standing up to protect them – and we’re working to make sure that girls around the country can have such protections! If you want to support our efforts to Save Girls’ Sports (and so much more!), click here. The work we’ve done so far is made possible through your partnership, and we know there’s much more to do! 

Here’s to more victories to come! 

Meridian Baldacci
Director, Strategy 

A few weeks ago, the Biden Administration announced its plan to target female athletes and the states protecting them.

In other words, the Biden Administration is OK with a male student taking titles, scholarships, and other athletic opportunities reserved for girls.

This proposal is not yet finalized, and the Biden Administration needs to hear from you.

The proposal poses a direct attack on the states that are standing up to Save Girls’ Sports. To-date, twenty states have Save Girls’ Sports laws, which keep girls’ sports just for girls. And, in total, over half of the states (31) have considered similar bills. The Biden Administration’s new proposal is an attack on those states, simply because they chose to stand up for female athletes.

Time is running out to share your voice with the Biden Administration. With just two weeks until the deadline, we need as many Americans as possible to raise their voices. Here’s what you can do:

  1. Just below this message you’ll find a pre-drafted comment you can submit in under a minute! If you have a personal story to share about how women’s sports has impacted you or a loved one, there is a space for you to share that too! The more detailed your message, the better: the Biden Administration has to respond to each unique message. Click here to send a message now.
  2. Share this alert. Forward this alert to friends or use the links at the bottom of this email to share this alert on social media. We need as many people to speak out as possible.
  3. Pray! As believers, we are called to speak the truth. After you have submitted your comment and shared this alert, please pray that the Lord would use your voice and the voices of thousands of others to change hearts and minds!

CLICK HERE TO RAISE YOUR VOICE NOW

Together, let’s send a clear message that female athletes deserve a level playing field.

Standing with you,

Meridian Baldacci
Director, Strategy

Dear Friends,

On June 23rd, Title IX turned 50 years old. Title IX is the landmark law that ensures women have equal access to education and athletic opportunities. Instead of celebrating this watershed for women’s rights, President Biden chose Title IX’s golden anniversary to pervert the law and advance his extreme abortion agenda.

If this new rule takes effect, the Administration will succeed in forcing abortion into even pro-life states through “Title IX.”

In the proposed rule, the Administration redefines “discrimination based on sex” to include “termination of pregnancy.” This means that even if a state already protects life in its laws, any school that receives any federal funding will be forced to make abortion accessible for students or else lose their federal funding.

TELL THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION YOU OPPOSE ENSHRINING ABORTION IN SCHOOLS

This new rule would hijack Title IX to create abortion sanctuaries in federally funded colleges and universities by requiring them to provide abortion or lose their federal funds. Beyond that, it may even require faith-based schools or K-12 schools to make abortion accessible to their students.

This rule will lead to costly litigation for schools, organizations, and individuals who object to providing abortions because of their conscience or sincerely held religious beliefs.

A rule like this could make colleges dispense abortion pills like candy and force pro-life healthcare providers to violate their consciences. Please submit a public comment opposing this dangerous rule now!

We encourage you to share this information with your family and friends–every comment can help slow down and may even stop this rule! We’ve provided some comments for you to use, but the more personal you can make your comments, the better.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Thank you for using your voice to protect human beings in the womb and their mothers!

Sincerely,

Joseph Kohm

Joseph Kohm signature

Joseph Kohm III
Director of Public Policy

On June 23rd, the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, we should have been celebrating 50 years of equal opportunities in education and athletics for women and girls. Instead, the Biden Department of Education continued to peddle its woke agenda by proposing a federal rule that redefines “sex” in Title IX policies to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

In other words, the Biden Administration is using the federal rulemaking process to take away those opportunities from women and girls and force the LGBT political agenda in every public school, .

TELL THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION YOU OPPOSE REDEFINING SEX IN TITLE IX!

The irony can’t be missed. President Biden intends to use the very law passed to increase women’s opportunities to instead give those opportunities back to men on its 50th anniversary. So much for 50 years of progress.

If this rule goes into effect, the Department of Education will use the power of the Federal Government to:

This rule comes from the same administration that deployed the FBI to investigate your community because parents are standing up and speaking out against gender theory and government mandates at their local school board meetings.

But, there is good news! Your voice is making a difference! The Biden Administration originally hinted that the new Title IX rule would also specifically harm girls’ sports. Instead, the movement to #SaveGirlsSports is sweeping the nation. Starting with just Idaho in 2020, now 18 states have laws to save girls’ sports. States—and female athletes and their parents—are pushing back.

In fact, the Biden Administration explicitly excluded girls’ sports from the proposed rule—demonstrating that they know an end to girls’ sports would not be well received by the public.

Keep the momentum going—your voice can make a difference! Please submit a public comment opposing this dangerous rule! Tell the Department of Education you STRONGLY OPPOSE ANY CHANGES in their education policies that redefine “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

We’ve provided some comments for you to use, but the more personal you can make your comments, the better!

For example:

Tell the Dept. of Education how this will impact your daughter or family.

Tell the Dept. of Education how this policy violates privacy and opportunities for women.

Tell the Dept. of Education how this will impact students and teachers.

Tell the Dept. of Education how redefining sex in Title IX defeats the purpose of providing opportunities for women.

We encourage you to share this information with your family and friends-every comment can help slow down and may even stop this rule!

 TAKE ACTION NOW

Thank you for using your voice to protect women and girls!

For America’s girls,

Nicole Hudgens
Government Affairs

 



 

Next month, the Biden Administration plans to make an announcement that could force schools to let males become women’s sports champions. Here’s how it will happen: the Biden Administration plans to propose a rule that will turn Title IX into the Equality Act for public schools. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Education wants to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include “sexual orientation and gender identity.” This rule will likely apply to every public school, college, and university.

Title IX is a law that was intended to ensure females have equal access to educational opportunities with males, and it helped make girls’ and women’s sports the robust environments they are today. But the Biden Administration wants to redefine federal law to erase these opportunities for women and girls.

This proposed rule will likely:

What can you do? Get ready to push back against this rule. The Department of Education is required to allow the public to comment on the proposed rule. Your voice can make a difference!

How?

First, watch this video with Roger Severino, Vice President of Domestic Policy at the Heritage Foundation, as he explains more about what the upcoming Title IX rule will do and how the comment process works. We were honored to sit down with Roger recently to talk about what this all means for you – plus, what’s happening behind the scenes.

Join Us TODAY

Biden’s Attack on Girls Sports (and what you can do about it)

A Conversation with Roger Severino

1 pm ET / 12 pm CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT

Join on Facebook or YouTube

(Seeing this late? You can still join at the links above!)

Second, watch for an upcoming email from Family Policy Alliance that will let you know when the proposed rule has been published. We will include a link for to submit your comment directly to the Federal Register.

Third, share this information with your friends! The more voices speaking out on this important issue, the more we will make a difference!

Stay tuned for more updates!

For women and girls,

Nicole Hudgens
Government Affairs

Many might assume that President Biden and Vice President Harris are focused on vaccinating the population against COVID-19 or perhaps something related to the environment and climate change. But, the Biden/Harris Administration has a different top priority—championing gender theory, or the idea that a person can change their sex and that everyone else must affirm that decision or be punished.

This would be laughable at times, like when we learned that Biden’s budget changed the word “mother” to “birthing person.” It sounds ridiculous and out-of-touch, but the truth is that gender theory is a very dangerous political agenda, especially for children. Yet, the Administration seems determined to force gender theory into every aspect of our lives and especially onto our children.

Here are just a few examples:

BREAKING TODAY: GOODBYE TO TITLE IX

Just today, Biden’s Education Department released new “official” guidance that it will interpret the word “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity.” In other words, a student can “identify” as the opposite sex at any time, for any reason.

The results for real American families? This means the end of girls’ sports, the invasion of privacy in locker rooms, and serious damage to their scholarships. It’s a pretty low blow, especially considering that Title IX’s 49th anniversary comes next week—stay tuned for more on that!

The irony is that Title IX is inherently built on sex-based distinctions. It is the federal civil rights law enacted to make sure women and girls have equal access to educational opportunities– and that requirement includes sports. To redefine Title IX so that any man can declare himself to be a woman at any time for any reason makes Title IX virtually pointless.

Read FPA’s official statement to the media about the Education Department’s new “guidance” on Title IX.

THE EQUALITY ACT

Many Americans are now familiar with this dangerous piece of legislation that President Biden labeled his top priority early on. The Equality Act would use the sweeping federal Civil Rights law to force gender theory onto the entire country, giving the same protection to a person because of their self-declared gender identity as we would because of their race.

The Equality Act would result in:

Thankfully, your voices have stopped the Equality Act from moving forward, but we expect a vote in the Senate on the bill next week!

To help, TAKE ACTION now, using our 1-minute Action Center to tell your Senator to vote NO! It is critical that this vote fails in the Senate!

To learn more, join me and our friends at The Heritage Foundation Thursday morning for “How the Equality Act’s Gender Ideology Would Harm Children.”

RSVP:  Thursday, June 17, 2021 from 10:00AM-10:30AM Eastern Time

PRESIDENT BIDEN’S “GENDER THEORY MUST BE EVERYWHERE IN AMERICA” ORDER

Biden and Harris must have known that the Equality Act would be a hard-sell to American families because on his very first day in office, Biden issued an executive order mandating that all government agencies—including those that most affect us in our everyday lives, such as the Health and Education Departments—must implement his gender theory into every area of law and regulation.

Passing the Equality Act into law, especially with the filibuster still intact in the Senate, is a heavy lift. It’s much easier for President Biden to issue a power-grabbing fiat with his pen, taking a chance that the American voters may not call him on it.

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS: PERFORM TRANSGENDER OPERATIONS OR ELSE

The Biden/Harris Health Department also joined the “gender theory propaganda bandwagon” in a big way. The Department recently announced that it would also interpret the word “sex” in Title IX and in Obamacare to also mean “gender identity”—just like we saw today from the Education Department.

This means that healthcare professionals such as doctors, hospitals, and insurers are required to provide transgender interventions on individuals. What does this look like in practice? If a hospital is willing to perform a mastectomy on a woman who has breast cancer, then the rule will require the hospital to also perform mastectomies on women—or even young girls—who identify as transgender.  If they administer hormones for certain medical treatments, they must also be willing to administer them for teenagers seeking to “transition.”  Under the rule, professionals would be required to perform these operations even if they do not believe them to be in the patient’s best interest in their professional judgment.

It’s a very twisted rule, clearly proving the point that this agenda puts politics over people every time.

The Biden/Harris Administration’s top priority is clearly dangerous with far-reaching consequences, especially for children who are affected at schools and who are not of an age where they can truly offer informed consent for serious medical operations.

But the GOOD NEWS is, it’s not all bad news!

  1. The Biden/Harris Administration’s obsession with gender theory shows how out-of-touch they are with real American families.
  2. More and more people are speaking out boldly to say “enough is enough!” every day.
  3. Over 30 states considered legislation to #SaveGirlsSports this year, with at least 7 states passing it into law!
  4. Arkansas became the first state in the nation to protect children from experimental transgender “treatments”!
  5. There’s still time to TAKE ACTION on the Equality Act to tell your Senators to vote NO.
  6. Even the Associated Press has admitted that the states taking action against gender theory, especially to save girls sports, are stopping the Equality Act!

So, take heart! Your voice in your state and to Congress is making a difference! And, your courage to speak out boldly against harmful gender ideology is making a difference. There’s a new wave of fellow Americans and believers washing over America with a renewed sense of hope, determination, and dedication to truth.

Standing together for His glory,

Autumn Leva
Vice President, Strategy

This week the Department of Education has hosted a week-long hearing that included the topic of redefining “sex” in Title IX to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in national education policies.

What does this mean? We’re glad you asked! Click to watch the newest Ask Meridian video to find out more!

We want to say a big “Thank you!” to 10,000 of you who have engaged on this important issue! If you haven’t submitted a comment, TODAY is the LAST DAY to tell the Department of Education you STRONGLY OPPOSE ANY CHANGES in their education policies that redefine “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” This is a dangerous agenda, and it must be stopped. Comments must be submitted before 5:00 pm ET Today.

Click here to submit your comment NOW! We’ve provided some comments for you to use, but the more personalized you can make your comments, the better!

Family Policy Alliance testified against revising the definitions of “sex” in Title IX during this week’s public hearing at the Department of Education this week and stated,

“Every girl should have the chance to compete on a level playing field. In today’s world, that means one that is reserved just for girls. Males naturally possess physical advantages over females. This natural advantage can result in them winning titles, scholarships, and other opportunities that should be reserved for girls.”The Department of Education has a responsibility to protect women and girls, not steal their dreams.”

“…Title IX itself explicitly allows educational institutions to maintain ‘separate living facilities for the different sexes,’ indicating binary, biological sex. Of course, this makes sense in the context of private spaces like locker rooms and showers.”

“No student should be forced into an intimate setting like a restroom or locker room with someone of the opposite sex. The Department of Education should not get to determine the first time a student is exposed to a member of the opposite sex while in a state of undress.”

You can read our full testimony here.

We were grateful for other excellent voices who spoke to the Department of Education urging the Department to protect the rights of women and girls in education, sports, and to protect parental rights. Here are a few quotes from the hearing:

“Title IX was enacted to protect girls from discrimination based on sex, not “gender identity.” Article 7 of The Declaration [on Women’s Sex-Based Rights], consistent with Title IX, affirms women’s rights to participate actively in sports on a single-sex basis to ensure fairness and safety for women and girls.” – Lauren Levey, steering committee member, U.S. Chapter of the Women’s Human Rights Campaign

“President Joe Biden’s policy, as stated in his Executive order, fails to protect the status and dignity of women as female and is a threat to every woman in America, especially female students and athletes.  ‘Gender identity’ does not equal sex.  Therefore, it should not be used to compromise Title IX protections for women. ‘On the basis of sex’ under Title IX should be based solely on the biological truth of being male or female.” – Doreen Denny, Vice President of Government Relations for Concerned Women for America

“…the social transition of children directed by school officials should be instead considered medical treatment, because the reason for directing that behavior is usually alleged to be the mental health of the child. Only parents have the right to direct the medical treatment of students. School administrators lack the medical training and professional competency to address those needs. Medical interventions are the responsibility of the parent and the doctor of their choosing… Every child has dignity and value. Every child is born in exactly the right body. The protections enshrined in Title IX – including religious exemptions – benefit everyone just as they are.” – Meg Kilgannon, Senior Fellow for Education Studies for Family Research Council

Every American has a right to speak at these national public hearings- even if we disagree. One speaker called for the Department of Education to limit the religious exemption in Title IX in order to limit or prohibit Christian Universities from teaching or implementing Biblical principles related to sexuality.

Again, today is the LAST DAY to weigh in at this “national school board meeting” and tell the Department of Education you STRONGLY OPPOSE ANY CHANGES in their education policies that redefine “sex” to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” It is critical that the Department of Education receives your perspective on this issue—otherwise, the only voices they hear will be the ones calling for an increasingly sexualized agenda in schools and an end to religious freedom.

Thank you again for protecting women and girls in schools!

Click here to submit your comment NOW!

Standing for Families and Children,

Nicole Hudgens
Government Affairs

The Biden Administration is on a mission to erase women.

Today is International Women’s Day, but on a day that he should be celebrating women, President Biden signed two sweeping Executive Orders that undermine women across America.

How can we stop this agenda before it’s too late? Read on or click here to take action now.

The LGBT Czars

Last year, during the Presidential debates, we wrote to you about Kamala Harris’s policy dreams, including establishing a White House LGBT czar. Dubbed the “Chief Advocate for LGBTQ+ Affairs”, this individual would work with agencies throughout the federal government to advance the LGBT agenda.

Today, Vice President Harris got her wish – or some version of it. Biden’s first order establishes a “Gender Policy Council”.

The New York Times has called it “the most powerful body of its kind to date.” And the Council’s co-chair described it as “not just a council,” but “a plan to take a government-wide approach to gender equity and equality.”

Leading officials and cabinet members from across the Administration will be required to participate. In education, health care, housing, and even foreign policy, the Biden Administration will use taxpayer dollars to advance the transgender agenda and “reproductive…rights” (read: abortion).

According to the new Council’s co-chair, “We are very inclusive in our definition of gender.” That’s code for “men can be women, too.”

On International Women’s Day, the President has created a Council that ERASES women.

But that’s not the only Executive Order erasing women. The second order redefines “sex” in Title IX.

Title IX is the federal law that bans sex discrimination in educational environments. It played a critical role in allowing women to finally get their own chance at sports, among other things.

But today, President Biden redefined sex in Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender identity. This change will affect schools across the nation. Practically, it means that if a male declares that he feels he is a female, he will likely be allowed to…

In other words, on a day meant to honor women, President Biden signed two executive orders that ERASE women, even handing women’s opportunities to biological men.

TAKE ACTION

These changes remind us eerily of the federal Equality Act, which would introduce many of these same changes – and more – across the nation. But there are key differences between the Equality Act and the President’s Executive Orders. First, while an Executive Order can be easily undone by a new Presidential administration, a law passed by Congress cannot be. Second, Presidents, unlike Congress, aren’t supposed to develop new laws. Biden’s executive orders are his attempt to get around Congress’s lawmaking process.

President Biden has been a strong proponent of the Equality Act, promising to sign it in his first 100 days in office. His release of these policies now could reflect his awareness that the American people are strongly pushing back against the Equality Act in the U.S. Senate – and that executive orders far outside the bounds of his authority may be his best attempt at advancing a radical political agenda.

We’re encouraged by that – but we’re also reminded that we must stop the Equality Act. Biden’s Executive Orders, bad as they are, will likely be challenged in court and can be easily undone by a new president. If made law, the Equality Act could not be so easily undone.

The U.S. Senate could vote on the Equality Act any day, and we MUST make it crystal clear that Americans are opposed to it.

So please, take action today. Use our Action Center to send a message to both of your U.S. Senators. Then, spread the word to friends.

Let’s make sure that these unconstitutional Executive Orders aren’t set in stone through the so-called “Equality Act.”


Meridian Baldacci
Policy and Communications Strategist

 

P.S. Please contact your Senators now. It only takes a minute in our Action Center.