Abbott says Texas won't accept Biden's 'ham-fisted' Title IX changes

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced his state will not be implementing changes to Title IX protections propagated by President Biden's administration.

Abbott, in a letter sent to the White House on Monday, rebuked the Biden administration's expansion of Title IX protections to protect "gender identity."

"Title IX was written by Congress to support the advancement of women academically and athletically," the letter states. "The law was based on the fundamental premise that there are only two sexes — male and female. You have rewritten Title IX to force schools to treat boys as if they were girls and to accept every student’s self-declared gender identity."

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott makes an announcement on the future of the space industry in Texas, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)

The letter continued, "This ham-handed effort to impose a leftist belief onto Title IX exceeds your authority as President. I am instructing the Texas Education Agency to ignore your illegal dictate."

The Biden administration unveiled the new rules earlier this month to address concerns expressed by LGBTQ+ groups regarding gender identity protections.

"No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. "Sadly, this happens all too often."

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President Joe Biden speaks at the IBEW Construction and Maintenance Conference in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The unveiled rule changes also rolled back regulations put in place by former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that ensured due process for those accused of misconduct.

Abbott's letter declining to comply with the updated federal protections focused solely on the expansion to cover "gender identity," which he claimed was an illegitimate overreach and would be challenged in court.

"Your rewrite of Title IX not only exceeds your constitutional authority, but it also tramples laws that I signed to protect the integrity of women’s sports by prohibiting men from competing against female athletes," Abbott wrote. "Texas will fight to protect those laws and to deny your abuse of authority."

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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr speaks at a Get Out The Vote rally at the Cobb County International Airport in Kennesaw, Georgia. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Texas is not alone in opposition to the Title IX updates — state officials from Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, and elsewhere have expressed intentions to legally challenge the federal government on implementing the protections. 

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has already filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, accusing the White House of "gutting commonsense provisions that protect female athletes."

State attorney generals from Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida have joined Georgia in the suit.