AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is encouraging universities and colleges across the state to ignore recent revisions of Title IX signed by President Joe Biden.
Title IX refers to the law that protects students from discrimination based on sex. In April, the Biden administration expanded the rule to apply to students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. The move came after Biden promised to dismantle rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who added new protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.
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In a letter sent to universities on Wednesday, Abbott encouraged noncompliance with the new revisions, citing concerns about the impact the new rule may have on women's collegiate sports.
Abbott's letter reads:
"As I have already made clear, Texas will not comply with President Joe Biden's rewrite of Title IX that contradicts the original purpose and spirit of the law to support the advancement of women. Last week, I instructed the Texas Education Agency to ignore President Biden's illegal dictate of Title IX. Today, I am instructing every public college and university in the State of Texas to do the same.
"I signed laws to ensure the safety of our students on campus and provide a process for adjudicating reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault with adequate due process for all parties involved, as well as laws to protect the integrity of women's sports by prohibiting men from competing against female athletes—and I will not let President Biden erase the advancements Texas has made."
As alluded to in the letter, Wednesday's letter follows Abbott instructing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to disregard the rewrite last week.
Abbott's order to TEA came the same day Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he was suing the Biden administration to block the changes to Title IX. Paxton's lawsuit joined Texas with a growing number of Republican-led states that have criticized the new rules, setting the stage for a legal fight over LGBTQ+ student protections. States suing the federal government say the administration misinterpreted the intent of Title IX.