Biden Admin Unveils New Rules Requiring Inclusion of Transgender Athletes

The Biden administration has issued draft guidelines that will allow public schools and colleges to prohibit transgender athletes from competing on sports teams, but the proposal prohibits them from implementing unilateral prohibitions. This move, marketed as a compromise, is likely to provoke anger among LGBT activists.

The Department of Education stated that “The proposed regulation… acknowledges that schools may, in some cases, adopt measures that limit transgender students’ involvement, especially in competitive high school and college athletic environments.”

Although schools would not be permitted to impose comprehensive bans, they will still be able to adopt their own “participation policies” on the topic. Schools interested in prohibiting transgender athletes from sports activities “must demonstrate that the decision is related to an important educational goal and that it minimizes harm to others,” according to the Washington Post.

As Republicans in multiple states have introduced legislation that prohibits transgender athletes, a policy that has been opposed by LGBT activists, this proposal has come forward. Kansas became the most recent state to pass a law prohibiting trans athletes, with the Republican-controlled legislature overriding the Democratic governor’s veto. It is the 20th state to do so.

The Washington Post reported that the administration’s compromise policy may disappoint transgender activists.

The people involved in the LGBTQ community have campaigned against these prohibitions as biased and damaging to susceptible youth. They claim that these prohibitions are part of an organized campaign to eliminate the rights of transgender people to exist, and they will surely be unhappy with the new proposed policy.

The administration claims that its proposal seeks to “minimize harm” to transgender athletes. If possible, schools will be required to establish policies that cause “less harm,” or they may be found to have violated federal law.

Democrats around the country have resisted Republican-led legislation on transgender concerns. In Nebraska, a Democrat has even declared that she would “burn the session to the ground” to prevent a law prohibiting sex-reassignment surgery for children. Virginia Democrats are battling to abolish single-sex restrooms in the state’s public schools.