Biden's Dept. of Justice: LGBTQ Students Protected Under Title IX

The Biden administration continues to bring relief to LGBTQ Americans, with the Department of Justice now making clear that gay and trans students are also protected by Title IX, civil rights legislation passed in 1972, political news outlet The Hill reports.

The DOJ issued that guidance to "federal agencies," The Hill writes, "reversing Trump administration guidance that limited the impact of a landmark Supreme Court decision last year extending employment discrimination protections to LGBT workers."

That directive stands in stark contrast to policies imposed by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose tenure was marked by anti-LGBTQ - and especially anti-trans - stances.

Before departing her post in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol Building, DeVos had doubled down with a "an internal memo gutting the rights of LGBTQ+ students in educational facilities," reported Them.

"A 13-page document published on Thursday further clarified the Department of Education's previously held position that Title IX protections do not apply to trans students" in spite of the Supreme Court's June 2020 finding, the news site went on to say. The memo cited that Supreme Court ruling, offering the rationale that there was "no reason to believe the court's logic necessarily leads to the conclusion" that LGBTQ students would be protected just because because the justices found workers were shielded by the law.

"We believe a recipient generally would not violate Title IX by, for example, recording a student's biological sex in school records, or referring to a student using sex-based pronouns that correspond to the student's biological sex, or refusing to permit a student to participate in a program or activity lawfully provided for members of the opposite sex, regardless of transgender status or homosexuality," DeVos' memo added.

But "Pamela Karlan, the head of the DOJ's civil rights division," had a memo of her own to send out to federal agencies, The Hill reported.

"After considering the text of Title IX, Supreme Court caselaw, and developing jurisprudence in this area, the Division has determined that the best reading of Title IX's prohibition on discrimination 'on the basis of sex' is that it includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation," Karlan's memo stated.

That memo was reportedly issued March 26.

Karlan's memo was a logical extension of actions the Biden administration took as soon as the new president took office, The Hill noted.

"Biden signed an executive order on inauguration day pledging to 'prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation' and two days later the DOJ rescinded the Trump administration's memo," The Hill article recalled.