Ohio Board of Education Rejects Title IX Gender Identity Protections
Proposed gender identity protections in Title IX were rejected by a 10-7 vote from the Ohio Board of Education in December.
The resolution adopted by the Board argued that '[s]ex is not arbitrarily assigned at birth but rather identifies observable, quantifiable differences between males and females.'
Amid pressure from the Biden Administration and the U.S. Department of Education to apply Title IX to LGBT+ students in school, proposed gender identity protections in Title IX were rejected by a 10-7 vote from the Ohio Board of Education in December.
The controversy over the application of Title IX in K-12 schools has mirrored the same controversy that has played out in higher education in recent years, a trend Campus Reform has covered previously.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Education updated the definition of Title IX, which originally had the intent of protecting students from sex discrimination, to encompass discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
[RELATED: Federal judge halts Biden’s Title IX changes]
The resolution adopted by the Ohio Board of Education argued that “[s]ex is not arbitrarily assigned at birth but rather identifies observable, quantifiable differences between males and females.”
“Denying the reality of biological sex,” the resolution states, “destroys foundational truths upon which education rests.”
The document goes on to assert that the Board has a duty to defend the U.S. Constitution, that the proposed regulations would deprive dissenting schools of freedom of speech, and that they would in practice allow minor children to transition without parental consent.
It also refers to the fact that the proposed updates to Title IX in Ohio would require sports teams to “be based on gender identity rather than biological sex,” forcing female athletes to compete against biological males.
The Ohio Board of Education also called upon the General Assembly of Ohio “to resist federal executive branch attempts to undermine the original intent of Title IX.”
[RELATED: ‘Stop the Title IX Take-Over’ rally protests Department of Education]
There was some backlash from Board members who voted against adopting the resolution.
Board Member Christina Collins stated that the resolution intentionally “singles outs” kids who claim to be LGBT+.
The writer of the resolution, Board Member Brandon Shea, disagreed, clarifying that the meaning of biological sex was “essential and foundational to the resolution.”
Campus Reform reached out to the Ohio Board of Education and the U.S. Department of Education for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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