FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
George Leef
georgeleef@jamesgmartin.center
919-828-1400
Raleigh, NC, September 3, 2024 — Today, the James G. Martin Center announces its support for an amicus curiae brief filed by Advancing American Freedom (AAF) in support of the State of Tennessee in its lawsuit against Miguel Cardona, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the implementation of the Department’s revision of Title IX regulations regarding sexual discrimination.
As written by Congress in 1972, Title IX makes it illegal for educational institutions that receive federal funds to discriminate on the basis of sex. The intention was to ensure equal treatment between men and women. The Department now wants to revise it to cover “gender identity.” Tennessee is suing in federal court to block enforcement of the new rule. AAF argues that the Education Department has no authority to make this change in the law, shifting from the law’s distinction between men and women to the vague and problematic concept of “gender identity,” and that such a change would create severe difficulties for women in sports and also for freedom of speech.
George Leef, the Center’s Director of External Relations, said, “This is yet another instance of federal bureaucrats rewriting laws to suit their ideological proclivities. Only Congress has the constitutional authority to make our laws and Congress has not and probably never will revise Title IX to include gender identity.”
Leef added, “AAF’s brief shows very well the Orwellian, reality-denying nature of the Department’s unlawful regulation.”
About the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal
The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization dedicated to excellence in higher education. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Martin Center advocates for responsible governance, viewpoint diversity, academic quality, cost-effective education solutions, and innovative market-based reforms. We study and report on critical issues in higher education and recommend policies that can create meaningful change at the state and local levels.