Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has concluded that California’s Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) violated Title IX by discriminating against girls and women on the basis of sex by allowing boys and men to compete against them.
The U.S. Congress sought to ensure equal opportunity for girls and women in schools and education programs that receive federal funds. Title IX of the Education Amendments became law in 1972.
Linda McMahon, secretary of the DOE, said the department is giving California 10 days to remedy their law-breaking — or bear the consequences.
“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports,” McMahon said in a statement, “both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions.”
The Trump administration will enforce the law, unlike the Biden administration, which enforced policies that violated female athletes’ privacy and undermined their safety.
The DOE issued a proposed Resolution Agreement for California to follow. The CDE and CIF may voluntarily agree to this resolution.
Among the provisions: notify all recipients of federal funding that operate interscholastic athletic programs in California that they must comply with Title IX. They must also remind these recipients that if any interpretation of state law conflicts with the Trump administration’s resolution agreement, federal law under Title IX preempts state law.
And the kicker: the CDE must send a personalized apology on behalf of the state to each female athlete for allowing her educational experience to be marred by sex discrimination.
The Trump administration announced that June will be “Title IX Month” in honor of the measure’s signing in 1972.
