Florida Defies Biden, Refuses To Comply With Revamped Title IX

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are refusing to comply with the Biden Administration’s revamped Title IX rules.

Last week, the Department of Education unveiled its new Title IX regulations that will expand the definition of sex-based discrimination to include “gender identity.” The new regulations would compel universities to allow men to compete in women’s sports and would classify things such as refusal to use an individual’s “preferred pronouns” as discrimination.

Many states, including Florida, have passed legislation that bars the practice of gender reassignment procedures for minors, as well as “transgender” males competing in women’s sports. On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reaffirmed his commitment to combatting gender ideology in his state.

“Florida rejects Joe Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX,” DeSantis said in response to the administration’s Title IX update.

“We will not comply and we will fight back. We are not going to let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities,” the governor wrote in an X post. We are not going to let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents and we are not going to let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida.”

While the new rules do not specifically mention athletics, the language is structured to offer full protection across education. Florida lawmakers believe the Biden Administration is using a sleight of hand  to “gaslight the country into believing that biological sex no longer has any meaning.”

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined DeSantis in rejecting the Biden Administration’s new regulations. “Biden’s new Title IX rules shred protections for women — that so many fought for over decades,” Moody wrote in an X post.

“The idea that young girls can now legally be forced to undress in the same room with males in what is supposed to be a safe space like a locker room, that a young woman could be randomly assigned a roommate that is a biological male with little-to-no-say over the matter, or that biological men would be eligible for women’s scholarships is ludicrous,” she continued.  “We absolutely plan to challenge this betrayal of women in court.”

Biden’s new Title IX rules shred protections for women—that so many fought for over decades. The idea that young girls can now legally be forced to undress in the same room with males in what is supposed to be a safe space like a locker room, that a young woman could be randomly…

— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) April 23, 2024