Idaho Governor Brad Little signed an executive order on Wednesday opposing changes to the Biden administration’s final rule on Title IX.
The final rule took effect this month, but Idaho is one of 26 states where state officials sued the Biden administration over the Title IX changes, blocking the rule from taking effect.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law enacted in 1972 that prevents gender discrimination in all education programs that receive federal funds. In April, the U.S. Department of Education introduced additional protections for LGBTQ+ students that guard against discrimination in school.
The final rule is intended to protect against discrimination “based on gender stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”
At a press conference on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Little said the executive order instructs the Idaho State Board of Education:
Work with the state Department of Education to ensure that Idaho public schools comply with all Idaho laws regarding fairness in women’s sports, and continue to educate all public schools on evolving legal challenges regarding the new Title IX rules.
Ensure that all Idaho students are afforded the greatest possible equality of opportunity in athletics and education, as guaranteed to them under the original Title IX rules and Idaho law.
Idaho officials and former college athlete speak out against changes to Title IX
Idaho was the first state to pass a law protecting women’s sports, Little said.
“These girls and women and their families dedicate their time, passion and money to improving their skills and competing to win,” Little said. “They deserve a level playing field. That’s why it’s so important for us as a state to do everything we can to protect and defend women’s sports.”
In 2020, Little signed House Bill 500, which bans transgender women from participating in women’s sports in Idaho. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Barbara Edhart (R-Idaho Falls) and former Sen. Mary Souza (R-Coeur d’Alene), both of whom were present at the press conference.
“Title IX changed my life,” Edhart told those in attendance. “In 1972, I was 8 years old. Life was very different from that of women back then. People asked me, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ I told people I wanted to play sports, and I was told that was not for girls.”
Despite those comments, Edhart said she stuck to her dreams, eventually playing Division I basketball with the help of a scholarship and working as a college basketball coach for 15 years.
“We have made the world a better place for these athletes,” Edhart said. “We will advocate for the rights of girls and women, not only in sports, but in all matters related to the revision of Title IX.”
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, also spoke at the press conference. She finished fifth in the final of the 200m freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Women’s Championships against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania.
Gaines said she felt uncomfortable in the locker room as she prepared to race against Thomas.
“I can attest wholeheartedly to the unfair composition, the tears I saw not only from the mothers in the stands watching their daughter get destroyed in the sport they once loved, but from the girls who finished ninth and 17th, missing All-American honors by one spot,” Gaines said. “…I am delighted to be here today with these legislators and tell Governor Little that Idaho will not submit.”
