Wake schools OK policy changes to comply with Title IX rules, avoid loss of federal money
The Wake County school board voted to implement new Title IX rules in its discrimination policies Tuesday, saying failure to do so could risk losing the district’s federal funding.
But the vote came amid tension from some members of the board and the public.
The revisions comply with the Biden administration’s new rule that bans discrimination based on gender identity and expands protections for LGBTQ+ students. The new rule broadened the scope of Title IX, the landmark 1972 law that prohibited sex discrimination in educational programs with federal funding. It also reversed some changes made by the Trump administration.
The Wake school system must comply with the new federal regulations before Aug. 1 because the system receives federal dollars. Board chair Chris Heagarty reminded the audience and board that there will not be another school board meeting before that date.
The board adopted the policy changes, 7-2, with members Cheryl Caulfield and Wing Ng opposed.
The district’s revised policy acknowledges that sexual harassment may be committed by members of the same or the opposite sex. It also notes that “discrimination on the basis of sex includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
Board members acknowledged they could lose more than $100 million in federal funding if they didn’t adopt the changes.
“It is something that we are legally obligated to do or face sanctions,” Heagarty said.
Moms for Liberty’s legal challenge
School boards across the country are facing the same requirement to adopt policies to comply with the Title IX rule, although judges in several states have granted injunctions in lawsuits against the Biden administration over the changes.
On July 12, conservative “parents’ rights” organization Moms for Liberty asked a Kansas federal judge to expand a July 2 injunction on the new Title IX rule to include “any K-12 school in any county in which the child of a member of Moms for Liberty resides.”
If granted, the Kansas-based injunction would cover more than 850 counties across the nation, including Wake County.
Becky Lew-Hobbs, a Wake County resident and chair of Wake County’s chapter of Moms for Liberty, said the Title IX rule would “subvert Congress’ goal of protecting biological women” by including gender identity.
“If you decide to implement the changes tonight and proceed with these policies, Wake County Schools will be in violation of a U.S. District Court ordered injunction and risk serious legal repercussions,” she said, promising the group is already looking into taking legal action.
Ng, who voted against the policy adoption, also brought up the legal challenges to the rule.
“There are multiple lawsuits across the country challenging these new rules and there is a preliminary injunction that may have some impact here in Wake County,” Ng said. “Let me be clear on one thing, no one is for discrimination and harassment. However, we do have to consider the main thing: ‘Who are we trying to protect? What was the original intent of Title IX?’”
Several speakers implored the school board to wait to vote on the changes until litigation has been completed.
Jacob Arthur, a Wake parent and member of conservative Christian group NC Values Coalition, called the new Title IX rule and Wake County’s policy “reckless.”
Arguments about gender identity
But Rowan Bilodeau, a transgender Wake County high school student who uses they/them pronouns, told the board that they were raped in a bathroom at school last year and are bullied for their gender identity.
“My schools have failed me. My country has failed me. And I’m honestly just angry,” Bilodeau said.
Margaret Bilodeau, Rowan’s parent, also spoke to the board, applauding them for adopting the discrimination policies. Both she and her child called on the school board to show that they care about LGBTQ+ students.
“The issue of sexual assault affects our communities and schools, and it’s essential that we tackle it head on,” Margaret Bilodeau said. “The distraction and subterfuge surrounding sexual assault only served to perpetuate and allow it to continue.”
Caulfield, a member of the board who voted against approving the policy, argued that approving the policy puts children at risk. She was concerned about “shared spaces,” especially between transgender and cisgender students.
“This new rule to Title IX undermines the very thing it was set up to do,” Caulfield said. “Women fought hard for these rights. It absolutely erodes the foundation and its purpose and removes the very protections It was created to foster.”
Other Wake residents spoke both for and against the implementation of the new rule during public comment Tuesday. Nearly every seat for guests in the meeting room was occupied.
Board member Ng, brought up his two daughters, saying he was worried about the impact the new rule might have on women’s sports as they get older.
He and others argued that the change would force schools to allow transgender individuals to compete on sports teams and use bathrooms that align with their gender identity and not their assigned sex.
But Biden’s policy does not include mention of transgender students’ involvement in athletics programs.
Wake Senior Director for Employee Relations Kendra Hill reminded the board that schools must comply with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that students have the right to use the restroom designated for their gender identity.
“That (was) a decision made four years ago by the Fourth Circuit ... that students were permitted to use bathrooms based upon their gender identity,” Hill said. “What we’re doing here does not impact that at all. That is already the law here in North Carolina.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2024 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Wake schools OK policy changes to comply with Title IX rules, avoid loss of federal money."
