Nonprofit leader defends parents' rights against controversial Title IX rule
WASHINGTON (TND) — Thousands of people have weighed in on the Biden administration's controversial Title IX rule which would in part, stop state bans on transgender athletes participating in female sports.
President of Parents Defending Education Nicole Neily joined The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat on Friday to break it down.
“We had five key points that we were concerned about. The first is that a lot of transgender athletes competing in women's sports is going to take away opportunities for women on the podium in award ceremonies and just overall you know how that will impact their self-confidence. There are biological differences between male bodies and female bodies and so we worry about fairness and safety,” she said. “This impacts parental rights because parents want to choose a safe environment for their children as well as you know how to deal with locker rooms and overnight field trips. There is a privacy issue as well. And then finally, the cost of this is that. the Biden administration has estimated that this will cost about $34 million over 10 years we feel as a gross underestimation of this and it's gonna be far, far higher. We tried to raise those points because the department is obligated to review and consider all those before they come out with a file.”
So far, there have been 132,000 comments and a call on the proposed rule from all sides.
“It specifically blocks states that have a blanket ban on participation which as of right now, there are 20 states that have that in place but what it does is it's kind of a wink-wink, nudge-nudge,” Neily said. “It’s not a mandate, but it does say that it's up to the district to determine whether a transgender athlete may or may not participate.”
