The Education Department issued guidance making clear that LGBT students are protected under Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive federal support.
Wednesday’s move is the agency’s latest reversal from the Trump administration, which scrapped 2016 guidance protecting those students and said it would leave the issue up to the states. President Joe Biden in an executive order directed agencies that a U.S. Supreme Court decision from last year on LGBT workplace rights should be interpreted to apply to areas like schools, housing, and immigration.
In that decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, the high court ruled that workplace discrimination protections under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act cover LGBT workers. Courts have frequently interpreted the reasoning in Title VII decisions to apply in Title IX cases as well.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Eddie Reynoso of San Diego, Calif., attaches an American flag his chair while waiting in line outside the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments in Bostock v. Clayton County in October 2019.
“The Supreme Court has upheld the right for LGBTQ+ people to live and work without fear of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination—and our LGBTQ+ students have the same rights and deserve the same protections,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “I’m proud to have directed the Office for Civil Rights to enforce Title IX to protect all students from all forms of sex discrimination.”
Restrictions in States
Cardona issued the guidance as the rights of LBGT students have been targeted in scores of states across the country. Several states have passed laws restricting transgender students’ ability to participate on school sports teams matching their gender identity—efforts that have received backing from national religious conservative groups.
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LGBT advocates, meanwhile, are pushing the Senate to pass legislation to codify protections for LGBT people in areas like housing and employment. The House passed the bill, known as the Equality Act (H.R. 5), by a 224-206 vote in February.
The Education Department this month held a series of hearings on the enforcement of Title IX, the first step toward rewriting Trump administration regulations governing the response to sexual misconduct in schools. New Title IX regulations could encompass issues such as protections for transgender students.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, said the guidance will offer strong and clear protections from discrimination in schools, and safer learning environments.
“This announcement reflects our shared commitment to providing all students a safe and welcoming environment, and it aligns the Education Department’s interpretation of civil rights law with the definition established by the Supreme Court last year,” he said in a statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Kreighbaum in Washington at akreighbaum@bgov.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anna Yukhananov at ayukhananov@bloombergindustry.com; Sarah Babbage at sbabbage@bgov.com
