DeSantis says Florida will not abide by new Title IX changes aimed at transgender inclusion

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state will not comply with new changes to Title IX on Thursday, after the Biden administration implemented new changes to the policy last week.

The Department of Education expanded the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and pregnancy on Friday, and rolled back Trump-era rules on student sexual misconduct cases. The finalization of the new rules came after months of delays and critics have already threatened legal challenges.

DeSantis, who has been criticized as being anti-LGBT, said he was not going to let President Joe Biden “abuse his constitutional authority,” by forcing Florida to abide by the new policies.

“Florida rejects Joe Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX. We will not comply, and we will fight back,” DeSantis said in a video posted to X. “We are not gonna let Joe Biden try to inject men into women’s activities. We are not gonna let Joe Biden undermine the rights of parents, and we are not gonna let Joe Biden abuse his constitutional authority to try to impose these policies on us here in Florida.”

Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz told public school teachers on Thursday that the state intends to fight the new changes, accusing the administration of maiming Title IX “beyond recognition.” 

“Instead of implementing Congress’s clear directive to prevent discrimination based on biological sex, the Biden Administration maims the statute beyond recognition in an attempt to gaslight the country into believing that biological sex no longer has any meaning,” Diaz said in a statement obtained by The Hill.

The Department of Education said public schools in the state will need to comply with the new regulations if they want to continue receiving federal funding.

“The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to give complete effect to the Title IX statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally funded education,” a Department of Education spokesperson said. “As a condition of receiving federal funds, all federally funded schools are obligated to comply with these final regulations and we look forward to working with school communities all across the country to ensure the Title IX guarantee of nondiscrimination in school is every student’s experience.”