Noem Threatens Legal Action Over Biden’s Title IX Changes

Sarah Arnold writes for Townhall.com about the latest national news emerging from South Dakota.

Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is threatening legal action against the Biden Administration over proposed Title IX changes, which protects women’s opportunities in sports. 

The U.S. Department of Education proposes a rule allowing biological males to compete on female sports teams. The law would not allow a school or college to receive federal funding if they impose a “one-size-fits-all” policy that bans transgender students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

“South Dakota will not allow this to stand. We will lead. We will defend our laws. Only girls will play girls’ sports,” Noem tweeted. “President Biden, we’ll see you in Court.” 

Last year, Noem signed one of the most arduous bills in the country vowing to protect women’s sports, along with a letter co-signed by 15 Republican governors urging the Biden Administration not to go forward with changes to Title IX.

“This bill’s about fairness,” Noem said while signing the legislation. “It’s about allowing biological females to compete fairly on a level playing field that gives them opportunities for success.”

“The U.S. Department of Education (Department) proposes to amend its regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) to set out a standard that would govern a recipient’s adoption or application of sex-related criteria that would limit or deny a student’s eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity,” the U.S. Department of Education wrote on Thursday. 

The Biden Administration claimed that banning transgender students from playing on sports teams that correlate to the gender they identify with that day would be denying “equal athletic opportunity.” 

Noem has long supported protecting kids from the Left’s radical agenda. Earlier this year, she signed the “Help Not Harm” bill, which bans specific medical and surgical interventions for transgender minors, saying that she “will always stand up for the next generation of South Dakotans.”