This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/title-ix-upended/

2024 | Week of April 22 | Radio Transcript #1563

A year ago March, a number of parents of students at Sun Prairie East High School addressed the District’s school board, expressing concern about what their daughters were telling them about an incident that occurred in the girls’ locker room.

According to Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, who got involved after a a parent contacted them, after a swim class, four freshmen girls, went into the girls’ locker room following a swim class and proceeded to shower in their swim suits.

The girls then saw a senior male student who is believed to have been 18 years old in the girls’ locker room. The girls say he wasn’t in their PE class. This biological male then proceeded to let them know he identified as a girl and stripped and showered in front of these young girls.

The school’s response when this issue went public was that there were conflicting stories and that, quote, “student privacy and other laws prevent the District from addressing the specific events that occurred,” and then went on to say they didn’t condone the sexes being mixed in shower rooms but also didn’t denounce what happened or take steps to pass and enforce polices that would ensure it didn’t happen again.

Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is currently investigating this incident. And that investigation is about to become even messier than it already is.

Late last week the Biden administration, through the Department of Education issued revised changes to Title IX. This process began months ago and was held in abeyance for quite some time, in part because of public input objecting to the proposed changes. Apparently, the Department has now made its final changes. This issue actually goes back to Obama, who shortly before leaving office, issued a memo, through the Department of Education and the Department of Justice, directing all public K12 schools and all colleges and universities accepting federal funding, to give special rights and protections to students dealing with gender confusion. When Trump became president, he rescinded the memo, which meant schools and colleges were to observe Title IX as it has been since 1973, meaning that sex as used in this law means male and female and nothing more. But Biden made a campaign promise that he would pander to the transgender agenda and turn Title IX on its head—no matter the consequences, and now he’s making good on his promise.

In the just-released Title IX revisions, sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. That’s the set up for the rest of the changes. It’s important to understand that Title IX was authored and passed by Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. These substantive, dangerous changes haven’t been authorized by Congress. They’ve been ramrodded through by a department.  No court has forced these changes; they are being done by adherents to an agenda that is absolutely disastrous for our youth.

Interestingly, the one area conspicuously absent in this Title IX revision is anything that prevents K12 schools and colleges and universities from enforcing policies that ban biological males from participating in women’s sports. Speculation is that this is not yet included because of how high-profile this issue is in this election year.

These Title IX revisions are scheduled to go into effect on August 1. Consider the impact these regulations will have on the Sun Prairie investigation we opened with. They will give this school district and every other school district in our state all the cover they need to excuse what happened to these young girls when the 18-year-old male invaded what should be a safe, private space for them.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says the new rule makes, quote, “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights.”  Cardona couldn’t be more wrong. For the vast majority of students, our public schools will become unsafe, unwelcoming, and totally disrespecting of their rights under this illegal and ill-conceived revision of Title IX. Fortunately, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty assures us there will be legal challenges of these changes.

I’d love to think what happened in Sun Prairie East High School last spring won’t happen anywhere else in our state, but given the culture and these outrageous Title IX revisions, no one should assume it couldn’t or wouldn’t happen in their school district. Bottom line: parents beware; your children are at risk.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

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