TYLER, Texas — Tyler ISD trustees on Monday approved a resolution denouncing changes to Title IX from the Biden administration regarding sex discrimination protections.
The Biden administration redefined sex discrimination and sex-based harassment to include protections for issues of gender identity and sexual orientation.
On April 29, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Education Agency to not follow the new rule, which would go into effect in August. Abbott also sent a letter to President Joe Biden saying Texas public schools (K-12) will be directed to ignore the changes, according to the Texas Tribune.
During its board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford said he notified the Texas Association of School Boards on April 30 of the district's expectations to craft a policy in line with Abbott's directive, the TEA's expectation and Tyler ISD's standard.
Crawford said the resolution will show the community exactly how Tyler ISD feels about the changes from the Biden administration. The Tyler ISD resolution said the changes would attack Title IX protections by making traditionally private settings for women like restrooms and locker rooms.
Tyler ISD said in its agenda that it "believes in protecting girls and women's rights in the authentic biological form in our schools, in athletic and other interscholastic competitions, and in the use of facilities, such as locker rooms and restrooms."
Crawford said proposed penalties for not complying with the Biden administration revisions would be withholding federal funding from the district. He said that funding includes money for the free and reduced lunch, a program that 80% of students use.
Tyler ISD trustee Aaron Martinez called the alterations a "misstep" that could complicate athletics and undermine the equality that Title IX was made to protect.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also sued the Biden administration to block the Title IX changes, the Texas Tribune reported.