The Biden administration on Friday rescinded pending regulations governing transgender athletes, abandoning efforts to provide certain protections for transgender students opposed by the incoming Trump administration.
The administration also withdrew a proposal to forgive student loans for about 38 million Americans, which the Education Department said was due to “administrative issues.”
“With the time left in the current administration, the department is focusing on several priorities, including court-ordered settlements and helping borrowers manage the final elements of repayment,” the department wrote.in that explanation.
The Department of Education received more than 150,000 public comments during a 30-day comment period regarding transgender athlete regulations, a proposal that includes amendments to Title IX, a landmark civil rights law that prevents gender discrimination. “A wide range of opinions were received,'' he said. ”
The report also noted that several lawsuits are ongoing related to the application of Title IX related to gender identity. That includes a challenge to companion regulations, which the government finalized in April to provide broader protections for gay and transgender students.
“In consideration of the comments received and the various pending lawsuits, the Department of Education has decided not to regulate on this issue at this time,” the Department said.I wrote it on Friday.
The Biden administration announced the proposal last April, saying state-level bans on transgender athletes “do not take into account the differences among students across grade levels and educational levels.”
The proposal would prohibit policies that completely prohibit transgender student-athletes from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity, but would allow schools to impose some restrictions, especially in competitive sports. will be recognized.
Schools still could have banned transgender athletes from competing in pursuit of “important educational objectives” such as fairness and prevention of sports-related injuries, a senior government official said at the time. However, “some purposes, such as disapproval of transgender students or a desire to cause harm to a particular student, are not covered,” they said.
This proposed regulation left parties on both sides of the issue frustrated. Some transgender rights advocates have decried the regulation, which would create a roadmap for schools to legally ban transgender athletes, and say it is a step back from President Biden's promise to protect transgender athletes. denounced. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York)It was called a proposal.“It's indefensible and embarrassing.”
Opponents of the administration's rules argued that they undermined the fairness of women's and women's sports.
President-elect Trump has said he opposes allowing transgender athletes to participate in women's sports and has indicated he will sign an executive order banning them after he takes office in January. Majority of Americans – 69%In a Gallup poll— We believe that transgender student-athletes should only be allowed to participate in sports that align with their birth gender, not their gender identity.
Since 2020, 26 states have passed laws banning transgender students, in some cases as young as kindergarteners, from participating in school sports teams that match their gender identity.According to the movement promotion projectTrack LGBTQ Law.
Federal judges temporarily blocked laws from taking effect in Arizona, Utah, West Virginia and Idaho, the latter two of which asked the Supreme Court to intervene, and a judge in Montana also ruled that the state would It permanently banned transgender athletes from competing. Sports in 2022.
By rescinding the regulations on Friday, the Biden administration will block the incoming Trump administration from amending and enforcing either regulation with few bureaucratic hurdles. The next administration could pursue its own regulations on the same issue, but it would have to start from scratch through a cumbersome rule-making process that could take up to several years.
