美国教育部周三扩大了对联邦性别保护的解释，将变性和同性恋学生包括在内，此举逆转了特朗普时代的政策，并反对许多州禁止变性女孩参加学校体育活动的提议。
在一项新的政策指令中，教育部表示，基于学生性取向或性别认同的歧视将被视为违反1972年联邦法律第九章，该章旨在防止教育中的性别歧视。
据该机构官员称，这一决定是基于去年最高法院保护同性恋和变性者免受就业歧视的里程碑式裁决。该部门的一项法律分析得出结论，区别对待教育“没有说服力或充分的依据”。
在宣布这一转变时，教育部长米格尔·卡多纳(Miguel Cardona)表示，男女同性恋和变性学生与工人“享有同样的权利，应该得到同样的保护”。
卡多纳在一份声明中说:“今天，教育部明确表示，所有学生——包括男女同性恋、双性恋和变性者群体+学生——都应该有机会在没有歧视的学校学习和发展。”
这项政策不太可能立即带来全面的变化，但可能会对未能保护同性恋和变性学生的学校和大学实施联邦制裁。
根据联邦法律，面临性别歧视的学生可以向教育部或联邦法院投诉。被发现违反第九章的学校可能面临一系列与联邦教育经费全部损失一样严重的处罚，尽管教育部从未处理过这种处罚。
有了新的立场，该部在越来越多的州采取反对立法提案的立场，这些提案旨在禁止跨性别女孩参加女子运动队。20多个州的立法者正在考虑这样的禁令，其他一些州已经颁布了这些禁令。
尽管这些禁令似乎直接违反了教育部的新政策，但尚不清楚该机构将如何回应。新的指导方针没有明确解决这个问题，但表示如果学生因性别而被拒绝平等获得“学术或课外机会”，将采取行动予以反对。
这一更新引起了保守派的愤怒，他们试图将变性女孩排除在女孩的运动之外。基督教组织捍卫自由联盟的法律顾问克里斯蒂娜·霍尔科姆(Christiana Holcomb)称之为“出于政治动机的变化”，实际上是对第九章的改写。
霍尔科姆说:“第九章的存在正是为了确保妇女和女孩在教育领域，包括体育领域享有平等的机会。”。"女孩和妇女应该得到更好的待遇，而不是为了有害的意识形态而被剥夺机会。"
然而，民主党人和民权组织对这一变化表示欢迎，称所有学生都应该得到平等的保护。众议院教育和劳工委员会主席、弗吉尼亚州众议员鲍比·斯科特(Bobby Scott)表示，该部将最高法院的裁决扩大到教育领域是正确的。
他在一份声明中说:“由于今天的行动，男女同性恋、双性恋、变性者和双性人学生将获得强有力和明确的法律保护，免受学校歧视，并拥有安全的学习环境。”
这一决定推翻了特朗普时代取消对变性学生民权保护的政策。2017年，特朗普政府取消了奥巴马时代的指导方针，允许跨性别学生使用与其性别身份匹配的浴室和更衣室。
当时，教育部长贝琪·德沃斯表示，这个问题“最好在州和地方层面解决”，早期的指导导致寻求澄清的诉讼激增。
新的行动并没有恢复奥巴马时代的政策，而是澄清了教育部的民权办公室将调查涉及同性恋或变性学生的歧视投诉。如果该部门发现基于性取向或性别认同的歧视证据，它将寻求一项解决方案，以“解决具体的合规问题或违规行为”
新指南作为“解释通知”发布，不具有法律效力。但这种转变可能会在乔·拜登总统3月份下令的政策改革中得到巩固。
拜登的命令指示教育部审查第九章的所有方面——包括德沃斯去年发布的全面改革——并“考虑暂停、修订或废除”未能保护学生的政策。
在卡多纳的确认听证会上，变性运动员的话题导致了紧张的交流。，说跨性别女生参加女生运动是不对的。卡多纳在3月份的听证会上反驳说，学校必须“尊重所有学生的权利，包括变性学生。”
Biden admin extends protections to transgender students
The U.S. Education Department on Wednesday expanded its interpretation of federal sex protections to include transgender and gay students, a move that reverses Trump-era policy and stands against proposals in many states to bar transgender girls from school sports.
In a new policy directive, the department said discrimination based on a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity will be treated as a violation of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that protects against sex discrimination in education.
The decision is based on last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling protecting gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment, according to agency officials. A legal analysis by the department concluded there is “no persuasive or well-founded basis” to treat education differently.
In announcing the shift, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said gay, lesbian and transgender students “have the same rights and deserve the same protections” as workers.
“Today, the Department makes clear that all students — including LGBTQ+ students — deserve the opportunity to learn and thrive in schools that are free from discrimination,” Cardona said in a statement.
The policy is not likely to bring immediate, sweeping change but carries the possibility of federal sanctions against schools and colleges that fail to protect gay and transgender students.
Under the federal law, students who face sex discrimination can bring complaints to the Education Department or federal courts. Schools found to have violated Title IX can face a range of penalties as severe as a total loss of federal education funding, although the Education Department has never dealt that punishment.
With its new stance, the department is taking a stand against legislative proposals in a growing number of states that aim to forbid transgender girls from participating on female sports teams. Legislators in more than 20 states are considering such bans, and some others have already enacted them.
Although those bans appear to be a direct violation of the Education Department's new policy, it's not clear how the agency will respond. The new guidance does not explicitly address the question but says it will take action against if students are denied equal access to “academic or extracurricular opportunities" because of their sex.
The update drew outrage from conservatives who have pushed to keep transgender girls out of girls' athletics. Christiana Holcomb, legal counsel for the Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom, called it a “politically motivated change” that effectively rewrites Title IX.
“Title IX exists precisely to ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities in education, including in sports,” Holcomb said. “Girls and women deserve better than having their opportunities stripped away in service of harmful ideology.”
Democrats and civil rights groups applauded the change, however, saying all students deserve equal protections. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said the department is right to extend the Supreme Court's ruling to education.
“As a result of today’s action, LGBTQ students will have strong and clear legal protections from discrimination in schools, and a safe learning environment,” he said in a statement.
The decision reverses Trump-era policies that removed civil rights protections for transgender students. In 2017, the Trump administration lifted Obama-era guidance allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities.
At the time, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said the issue was “best solved at the state and local level” and that the earlier guidance led to a spike in lawsuits seeking clarification.
The new action does not reinstate the Obama-era policy but instead clarifies that the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights will investigate complaints of discrimination involving gay or transgender students. If the department finds evidence of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, it will pursue a resolution to “address the specific compliance concerns or violations.”
The new guidance was issued as a “notice of interpretation” and does not carry the force of law. But the shift could be cemented in a policy overhaul that President Joe Biden ordered in March.
Biden’s order directed the Education Department to review all aspects of Title IX — including sweeping changes issued last year by DeVos — and “consider suspending, revising or rescinding” policies that fail to protect students.
The subject of transgender athletes led to a tense exchange during Cardona’s confirmation hearing when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said it’s wrong for transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports. Cardona pushed back at the March hearing, saying schools must “respect the rights of all students, including students who are transgender.”
