Abby Funderburk
On April 27, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Education Agency to ignore a Title IX expansion by the Biden administration. The new amendments would have extended protections based on sexual identity to students at Texas State.
The Texas government is once again showing Texans how little they truly care. Students have the right to feel protected and valued. Abbott has shown time and time again he has one agenda: hate.
Specifically, the Title IX amendments aim to protect students based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Protections are also extended for pregnant students. The Supreme Court has now ruled the Department of Education cannot legally enforce the new regulations in Texas and other states.
The expansion to Title IX was proposed in 2022 and not finalized until April 2024. On June 11, a federal Texas judge blocked the guidelines. According to the Title IX Injunction Order, the idea that sex and gender identity be treated the same “flouts Title IX” and the Biden administration lacks the authority to “rewrite clear statutory terms to suit its own sense of how the statute should operate.”
Title IX specifically applies to federally funded educational programs. The Texas State website states “Title IX and university policies protect all students, faculty, staff and visitors from discrimination on the basis of gender, sex, gender identity or expression and sexual orientation.”
On April 29, Abbott wrote on X, “Congress wrote Title IX to protect women. Biden, with no authority to do so, rewrote Title IX to protect men who identify as women.”
This statement is almost laughable. The nearly 10 years Abbott’s been in office are overshadowed by his war on women and reproductive rights. He, along with other Texas officials, have no right to hide behind lies about “protecting women” when he has shown he does not care about their safety.
According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, 86.3% of LGBTQ students have “experienced sexual harassment or assault based on their identity or sexual orientation.” Expanding Title IX to include gender identity and sexual orientation is a huge step in the right direction in making an effort to protect all students. Texas students deserve this same protection.
Even if students don’t identify as members of the LGBTQ community, they should stand behind their classmates who started this school year with less protection than other students around the country.
Abbott wrote in a letter to Texas universities, “I signed laws to ensure the safety of our students on campus… as well as laws to protect the integrity of women’s sports by prohibiting men from competing against female athletes – and I will not let President Biden erase the advancements Texas has made.”
Despite the beliefs of government officials, Texas is moving backward at a scarily rapid rate. The “advancements” Abbott references are nothing but unfair discriminatory actions taken against the LGBTQ community in Texas.
Universities are supposed to be environments where students feel safe. Texas State is not to blame in this situation but should take action to ensure students know their safety is a priority, despite the hate coming out of the government.
Don’t stand for discrimination disguised as protection for others.
-Rhian Davis is a journalism junior
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