Jose Rodriguez EDINBURG – The Education Department has removed sex-based discrimination protection rights for transgender students in public schools across the nation.
With the removal of certain rules under Title IX, trans students may not be represented in public schools.
In a press release from the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month, announced the Trump administration would be undoing the Biden administration’s rules for trans students.
Changes include closing women’s and gender studies classes, ending puberty blockers, hormone therapies, gender transition surgery and transgender care for minors.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title IX has been a federal law right under the U.S. Education amendments since 1972, prohibiting sex-based discrimination within educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
Sex-based discrimination includes sexual harassment, sexual violence and failure to provide equal athletic opportunity.
During the Biden administration, the law was interpreted to include trans students by adding rules such as recognizing gender pronouns, athletic participation and preferred bathroom usage.
Alvaro Corral, UTRGV political science assistant professor, said the Education Department will not participate in protecting trans rights under Title IX.
“What this means is that if there were to say, be a transgender student who felt like their college or university was violating their rights as a transgender student, essentially, they could not rely on the federal government specifically, again, the civil rights wing or office of the Department of Education,” Corral said. “They would no longer be able to rely on that as an entity to protect them.”
Corral said the decision may affect higher education institutions and the U.S. armed forces like trans individuals being denied jobs and promotions because of their identities.
In the same press release, the Department of Education stated some institutions of higher education and university hospitals across the U.S. have received a letter for the Trump administration to end transgender programs.
Cindy Ruiz, president of the Intersectional Feminist Student Organization, said she is grateful that her organizations and other D.E.I. programs at UTRGV are still running, but is disappointed with the handling of LGBTQIA protections.
“Not only did it [make] people go unemployed, but also it removes a safe space that the community had the ability to go inside of universities,” Ruiz said. “And that combatted specifically discrimination causes that the university could cover in that moment.”
Ruiz encourages people and students to join local groups and contact their local representatives to help make a change and be an ally to LGBTQIA communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
