WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) calls to apply continued pressure on the Biden-Harris administration for its unlawful Title IX omnibus regulation, which maintains the default position that “gender identity” equates to “sex” across all aspects of education, including women’s athletics. The Department of Education has withdrawn the administration’s separate proposed regulation outlining detailed eligibility rules for women’s athletic teams, yet the omnibus rule that still stands continues to deny women equal athletic opportunity in the 24 states that have not sought injunctive relief.
May Mailman, director of Independent Women’s Law Center and attorney on the Alabama v. Cardona lawsuit which prevented the omnibus Title IX regulation from taking effect in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, said: “Even the Biden administration can read the room that forcing women to compete and change with men is not a winning proposition. Every state and private sporting body should figure this out. The fight is far from over. Biden’s omnibus Title IX regulation redefines sex to mean gender identity, threatening all women’s opportunities in school, including athletics. We’re not done protecting women from the humiliation of being treated as though they are a state of mind.”
In a statement announcing the withdrawal of the athletics regulation, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged Americans’ overwhelming support for fairness and safety in women’s sports, writing:
“To the extent the Department receives complaints of discrimination about a recipient’s obligation to provide equal opportunity to participate in athletics regardless of sex, it will continue to apply the longstanding legal standards reflected in the athletics regulations.”
The reversal of the athletics regulation comes after Americans made resoundingly clear in the 2024 election that they want leaders who will stand with women and fight back against policies that threaten women’s equal athletic opportunities. The reversal also comes on the heels of the landmark Our Bodies, Our Sports “Take Back Title IX” Summer 2024 Bus Tour, led by Independent Women’s Forum, which traveled coast to coast to 30 states in 30 days with over 50 speakers, including NCAA female athletes, coaches, and Olympians, to expose the devastating impact the Biden-Harris administration’s omnibus Title IX rewrite will have on women’s sports.
Throughout the bus tour, Independent Women’s Forum gathered public signatures on two open letters—one letter to congressional leadership and one letter to the Biden administration and Secretary Cardona—and signed by the 12 member organizations of Our Bodies, Our Sports from across the political spectrum, demanding the war on women through the omnibus regulation be stopped.
Independent Women’s Voice, IWF’s 501(c)(4) sister organization, also drove more than 20,000 public comments to the Department of Education opposing the administration’s plan to gut Title IX, arguing that it would upend equal opportunity for women in sports.