According to a new report from attorney Cory Brewer of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, school boards should anticipate controversial changes to Title IX coming sometime this fall. Brewer writes about the potential changes to Title IX in a policy brief for the American Enterprise Institute:
[T]he US Department of Education (ED) plans to release the final federal rules that are expected to amend Title IX by changing the definition of “sex discrimination” to include discrimination on the basis of “gender identity.” A separate set of rules is expected to pressure school districts to predicate sports participation on the basis of “gender identity.
These changes will be controversial and difficult to implement. School boards may consider adopting policies that conflict with the regulations, and if so, they need to be willing to litigate these issues. As school board members look ahead, they should be aware of what changes are expected, what legal claims are likely, what could happen if school board policies do not comply with the anticipated final rules, and what to do if they are in a state that has passed laws in conflict with the new ED rules.
Cory is also the author of Empowering School Boards: Model Policies that Promote Good Governance, Transparency, and Parental Rights. It could prove helpful to school boards as they navigate changes, especially the sections on controversial issues and gender identity.