A group that advocates against expansion of Title IX protections to include gender identity has created a “pledge to protect schools, children and families” that candidates for political office are asked to sign.
SAVE, based in Rockville, Md., is promoting its pledge to candidates for federal, state or local office.
The group claims the U.S. Department of Education “is proposing to redefine the meaning of sex to include ‘gender identity’ through Title IX, the federal law that originally barred discrimination against women but also covers sexual assault and other forms of discrimination.
Changes in interpretation of the law, issued by the Department of Education, have been a political football in recent years. The Trump administration, led by then Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, rolled back major parts of Title IX provisions, making it harder for women to make claims of sexual abuse or rape.
Reversing those changes and adding interpretation to protect sexual orientation and gender identity was a campaign promise of President Joe Biden, but three years into his term of office the rules have yet to be updated. Proposals have been published, and comments have been received, but final guidance has not been given.
Of the proposed changes, the Associated Press reported in 2022: “For the first time, the rules would formally protect LGBTQ students under Title IX. Nothing in the 1972 law explicitly addresses the topic, but the new proposal would clarify that the law applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
That move is vehemently opposed by religious and political conservatives who believe sexual orientation is a choice and gender identity is fixed at birth.
SAVE warns the proposed Biden administration interpretation would “have transformative effects on schools, children, families and American society at large.”
The candidate pledge says when elected to office, the person will work to assure that:
- “Schools and other organizations shall utilize the traditional binary definition of ‘sex.”’
- “Schools shall obtain prior consent from parents for any use of gender pronouns, or gender-dysphoria counseling or treatments.”
- “Parents shall have the right to examine and opt their children out of any school curricula dealing with sexuality and gender identity.”
- “Schools shall only allow biological females to participate in women’s sports, enter women’s locker rooms, and use women’s bathrooms.”
- “Schools shall adhere to Constitutional due process procedures to protect falsely accused males from Title IX complaints.”
- “Schools and other institutions shall fully uphold Constitutional free speech guarantees.”
The SAVE website includes a page titled “Nine Key Facts About Sexual Violence and Rape” that offers no evidence of sexual orientation or gender identity being a factor in committing sexual assaults. Although some political candidates and far-right pundits have warned parents their children are in danger from transgender people or gay men, there is no statistical evidence to support this claim.
Students and adults who are transgender have been targeted in legislation in statehouses nationwide, driven by a single model perpetuated by a conservative advocacy group related to Focus on the Family. The fear of a “gay agenda” and of transgender people has created havoc in school districts nationwide, tied to efforts to ban books from school libraries.
SAVE is an acronym for Stop Abusive and Violent Environments. Its website lists four members of its board of directors and no staff members. Its founder is Edward E. Bartlett, a former federal regulator at the Department of Health and Human Services. The other three board members are attorneys: Jesse Binnall, Cynthia Garrett and Eric Rosenberg.