Delegates to the Democratic National Convention will vote Monday on the Democratic Party's 2024 policy platform, which includes “explicit” Title IX protections for LGBT students that were just blocked by the Supreme Court.
The Democratic National Convention released the Democratic Party’s final 2024 platform Sunday night, after the one created during President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign was ultimately scrapped. Vice President Kamala Harris announced her own presidential bid soon after, prompting a need for revisions to better align with her own policy positions and a new vision for the party. The party’s latest platform mimics the Biden administration’s attempt to craft Title IX rules to expand the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity.
“Following the Supreme Court's order on Friday, Biden-Harris Title IX rules are in effect in less than 50% of the country, underscoring the blatant illegality of this policy as well as the deep unpopularity of this issue,” Nicole Neily, president and founder of the parental rights group Parents Defending Education, told Fox News Digital. “Americans agree on relatively few things these days, but opposition to progressive gender policies is one of the few issues that transcends racial, political and socioeconomic lines, so doubling down on this issue is a risky move.”
Lia Thomas was the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship.
Matt Sharp, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit that also focuses on parental rights issues, said the decision to include transgender protections in the Democratic Party platform “contradicts growing opinion” about expanding the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity.
“I think it's really troubling to see the DNC platform continue down the same path that the courts have rejected time and time again, not allowed to move forward, and that ultimately the American public does not support,” Sharp said.
CAITLYN JENNER SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING AGAINST BIDEN-HARRIS TITLE IX SWITCH IS 'GREAT NEWS' FOR WOMEN'S SPORTS
Sharp noted that efforts to redefine sex and sex discrimination date back to President Barack Obama's administration. Once Trump took office, he repealed the rule, but Biden then put it back in place.
“This has been a continuing pattern for various administrations to push this, but it's not just the courts that are pushing back, it's the American public itself, and we're seeing that through more and more brave female voices speaking out against this,” Sharp said.
Reed D. Rubinstein, senior vice president of America First Legal, the right-wing legal organization founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, called the move to add protections for transgender students under Title IX “old news.”
“The left has been fighting this reality for more than a decade: It has repeatedly tried, and repeatedly failed, to amend Title IX in Congress. Twice, it has tried to change the law by administrative fiat. To protect girls' sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms, the Trump administration revoked the Obama administration's “Dear Colleague” letter that stated that “sex” and “domestic violence” were illegal.[gender identity’ are coextensive]”Rubinstein told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Transgender policies have been a point of contention between those who believe parents should have more control over their children's education and those who think LGBT students should be allowed to decide what to tell their parents or what not to tell them. (Adobe Stock)
“The Trump administration issued a Title IX rule that survived every single court challenge from the left. Now, the courts have halted the Biden-Harris administration's attempt to rewrite the statute through regulation. But the Supreme Court, unanimously, has made clear that the word 'sex' in Title IX does not mean 'gender identity,' but rather biological sex, male or female.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive a response.
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In addition to Title IX protections for transgender students, the DNC party platform also contains language stating that Democrats will continue to “alleviate the crippling burden of student debt” in 2024, another policy initiative under Biden that was struck down by the Supreme Court. The platform blames Republicans for “blocking”[ing] “our student debt relief.”
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled against the Biden administration’s plans for student debt cancellation, arguing that the president overstepped his authority when he announced a plan to cancel up to $400 billion in student loans through executive action.
