(NationalUSNews.com) — The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has ordered Texas colleges to disregard President Joe Biden’s updates to Title IX in a controversial move that further illustrates Abbott’s refusal to adhere to Biden’s policies.
Title IX was introduced 1972 when Congress amended an education bill from 1965 that protects colleges from discrimination based on a student’s gender and prevents sexual harassment on college campuses. The Biden administration recently updated Title IX to include transgender students and ended an update from the Trump administration that granted certain protections to college students facing allegations of sexual crimes.
Abbott, an avid critic of President Biden, has called on Texas colleges to refuse to comply with the White House’s newest addition to Title IX protections. The main criticism of the latest amendment to Title IX relates to the amendment’s protection of transgender athletes, which would allow transgender “women” to compete in female sports. Some experts believe that allowing trans women to compete puts other women at a disadvantage and could create safety risks for athletes engaged in sporting events, a claim often criticized by transgender advocacy groups.
Despite President Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX to apply to transgender college students, Abbott claims that Texas colleges won’t adhere to the newest amendments. According to Abbott, Biden’s change to Title IX is a “leftist policy” that constitutes an illegal edit of the established anti-discrimination act. Abbott also said that Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX directly contradicts Congress’ initial purpose for drafting the original 1972 amendment, as Congress expressly referred to men and women when signing Title IX into law.
Abbott announced his decision to disregard President Biden’s edits to Title IX in an open letter on his social media accounts. Abbott also said he had already told the Texas Education Agency to disregard the alterations. While Abbott claims President Biden’s amendment to Title IX is inappropriate and contradictory to the act’s initial purpose, his decision to violate federal law isn’t the first time the governor has clashed with President Biden’s proposed policies.
The White House’s most contentious dispute with Abbott occurred when the Texas governor established a makeshift border wall on the Rio Grande River, which used razor wire and buoys to keep illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States. Biden quickly threatened to federalize the Texas National Guard to have them dismantle the makeshift barrier, further raising tensions between Abbott and the White House. Abbott remains one of Biden’s most vocal critics and will likely continue to ignore Biden’s policies for the foreseeable future.
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