South Carolina sues Biden administration over new Title IX rule

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced his office is suing the Biden administration’s Department of Education over a Title IX rule change scheduled to take effect in 2024.

The new rule requires schools that receive federal funding to accommodate students’ and teachers’ gender identity by allowing those who identify as women or men to use that respective bathroom or locker room. Wilson said it also means students and teachers will be required to use others’ preferred pronouns when referring to them.

Passed in 1972, Title IX states “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Wilson said he believes the Biden rule will undermine Title IX by conflating gender identity and sexual orientation with biological sex.

“Title IX exists to protect women and provide an equal opportunity to compete in sports. I can’t believe were in a time where that’s being threatened,” Wilson said. “As I’ve said before, this office will use every resource at our disposal to fight against Biden’s unlawful attacks on Title IX and protections for women and girls.”

South Carolina is one of four states suing the Biden administration over the new rule. The other states listed as plaintiffs are Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Wilson submitted a public comment to the Department of Education in May 2023 alongside several other state officials. The comment expressed similar concerns about the department’s attempt to rewrite Title IX, specifically as it pertains to women’s sports.

“This is not about being against anyone,” the letter said. “But about being for fairness, safety, and biological reality. Every child must be treated with understanding and kindness. But we must not jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of women and girls in order to pursue a radical, theoretical agenda with no basis in biological reality.”

Biden’s rule change is scheduled to take effect August 1.

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