Title IX Changes Eviscerates Equality, Free Speech and more


WCPSS School Board Meeting July 16, 2024. This is the first meeting of the new school year. On the agenda for WCPSS was 2 policies that will enact the changes to Title IX.

 

Cheers to a new school year. I’m Becky Lew-Hobbs - longtime Wake County resident, mom to 3 amazing kids, and chapter chair of Moms for Liberty Wake County. I am here tonight to discuss Title IX, some new policies on the agenda tonight, and a recent Federal Court ruling.

First, what does Title IX say? “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

But this past spring Biden’s DoE issued sweeping changes to Title IX that eviscerates equality, free speech, and due process. On tonight’s agenda are 2 policies regarding Sex Discrimination and Harassment, that attempt to implement these changes. Lawsuits have been filed and injunctions have been issued in several states. And on July 2nd, US District Court issued another injunction AGAINST Biden’s DoE Title IX changes for 4 more states PLUS any school attended by children of Moms for Liberty members.

Because of this injunction, Wake County Schools is prohibited from implementing Biden’s DoE Title IX changes. A link to the court ruling was sent to the board already.

Here are a few excerpts :

  • the purpose of Title IX was to protect biological women from discrimination in education (page 23)
  • The DoE’s reinterpretation of Title IX to place gender identity on equal footing with (or in some instances arguably stronger footing than) biological sex would subvert Congress’ goals of protecting biological women in education (page 23)
  • The DoE simply lacks authority to expand sex to mean gender identity. (page 24)
  • the Final Rule violates the First Amendment rights of individuals by compelling speech that aligns with Defendants’ ideology, censoring speech through content-based restrictions and viewpoint discrimination, chilling speech through vague and overbroad language, and forcing individuals to engage in speech that violates their sincerely held beliefs. (page 29)

In summary, the Court ruled that Title IX was meant to protect biological women from discrimination and found that Biden’s DoE re-write was (1) contrary to law, (2) exceeded their statutory authority, (3) violates the First Amendment, and (4) is impermissibly vague and overly broad.

If the board decides to proceed with implementing policies based on Biden’s Title IX changes, Wake County Schools would be in violation of US District Court Order and risk serious legal repercussions.