Washington, D.C. — Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives announced that it will vote this week on H.R. 734, which would amend existing law to make it a violation of Title IX for recipients of federal financial assistance to allow transgender girls or women to participate in girls’ and women’s athletic programs. In response, Caroline Medina, director of LGBTQI+ Policy at American Progress, issued the following statement:
This openly discriminatory bill will harm transgender youth, women, and girls and undermine the civil rights of all students. The effort to exclude transgender and intersex youth from participating in athletic programs in schools is part of a larger, coordinated campaign by MAGA extremists to attack and erase the identity of transgender and other LGBTQI+ kids in schools and beyond.
This bill violates Title IX’s promise of ensuring rights to a safe educational environment free of harassment and discrimination and has absolutely nothing to do with promoting gender equity in sports. Instead of fostering division and hatred, anyone committed to improving athletics for women and girls should be prioritizing the actual issues facing them in sports—such as discrimination, lack of fair pay, and harassment.
Congress should overwhelmingly reject this dangerous bill and instead turn its attention to strengthening Title IX and focusing on advancing policies that ensure all students are treated with dignity and respect, so they can learn and grow in educational environments that are inclusive, are safe, and enable students to succeed.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Madia Coleman at [email protected].