WV female athlete, teachers across country stand up against Biden admin's Title IX rewrite

Female athlete, teacher association seek to intervene in case to preserve fairness, privacy, safety, and free speech

COVINGTON, Ky. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a motion Friday asking a Kentucky federal district court to allow A.C., a high-school athlete from West Virginia, and Christian Educators Association International, an association of teachers, to join a lawsuit suing the Biden administration over its recent attempt to rewrite Title IX, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for students in education and athletics. A.C. has already lost key opportunities to a male student on her track team and had to endure that student’s vulgar sexual comments while on the team. Christian Educators now face threats to their free speech and right to access sex-specific spaces like bathrooms.

Following the publication of the administration’s rule on April 29, six states, including Tennessee and West Virginia, filed a lawsuit, State of Tennessee v. Cardona, last week, challenging the administration’s attempt to redefine “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity.” This attempt to rewrite federal law jeopardizes privacy, safety, free speech, and fairness for students and teachers.

“The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex won’t just rewire our educational system. It means young girls will be forced to undress in front of boys in gym class, girls will share bedrooms with boys on overnight school trips, teachers and students will have to refrain from speaking truthfully about gender identity, and girls will lose their right to fair competition in sports,” said ADF Legal Counsel Rachel Rouleau. “Our client A.C. has already suffered the humiliation and indignity of being harassed by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. No one else should have to go through that. But the administration continues to ignore biological reality, science, and common sense. This court deserves to hear from those most severely impacted by the administration’s attempt to rewrite Title IX.”

A.C. is a 15-year-old girl from West Virginia who was forced to compete in track and field events against a male last year who took away her spot to compete in a conference championship. A.C. also had to change in the girls’ locker room with the male athlete and endure vulgar, sexual comments that the athlete directed at her. Since competing on the girls’ team, that athlete has beaten female competitors over 600 times, bumping those females down the results list.

ADF attorneys explain in the motion to intervene filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in State of Tennessee v. Cardona that West Virginia has a law that would protect A.C’s right to access sports teams and locker rooms without encountering students of the opposite sex. The attorneys also discuss how Tennessee and Kentucky have state laws that would protect the privacy and free speech of teachers who are members of Christian Educators and teach in schools covered by Title IX. But those state laws and the protection they provide A.C. and Christian Educators would be wiped away by the administration’s new Title IX rules. A.C. and Christian Educators seek to argue against these rules and stop them from going into effect.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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