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No.

The Biden administration’s April 19, 2024, changes to Title IX do not address participation of transgender people in sports.

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools receiving federal funding.

The Education Department’s new rules protect students and employees from sex-based harassment and discrimination.

The rules say future changes will address sex-separate athletic teams.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents northern Wisconsin, claimed on social media the changes allow “biological men” to play women’s sports. His office did not reply to requests for information.

Tiffany’s post alluded to a Washington Examiner news story. It reported that the new rules pertain only to sexual harassment and discrimination and that transgender participation in sports would likely be taken up later.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the administration considered but opted not to include in the April 19 changes a policy forbidding schools from banning transgender athletes.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education: Title IX and Sex Discrimination

Education Department: News release

U.S. Department of Education: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance

Google Docs: Tom Tiffany X post 4/22/24

Washington Examiner: Biden administration finalizes controversial Title IX rule to ‘redefine’ sex

Los Angeles Times: New Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender athletes aren’t addressed

Washington Post: Biden Title IX rules set to protect trans students, survivors of abuse

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time Milwaukee-based reporter in October 2024 after starting as a freelance Fact Briefs reporter in January 2023. In addition to contributing to Wisconsin Watch’s collaboration with The Gigafact Project to combat online misinformation, he reports on Wisconsin policy, labor, energy and the rapid expansion of data centers across the state. Kertscher is a former longtime reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and the author of two sports books, on Al McGuire and Brett Favre.