Dear Friends,
Summer vacation is drawing to a close. Next week will see most of our kids back to school. Parents will begin the rituals of packing lunches, double-checking schedules, waiting in the seemingly endless drop-off line, shuttling kids to sports and events in the afternoon, and then doing it all again the next day, but with more laundry and less sleep. Back-to-school and the morning choreography are very much the same across America.
However, for some schools in our country, the latest attack from the Biden-Harris administration on Title IX has changed the game. While Title IX was meant to protect women’s opportunities and access in education, the administration has altered the definition of discrimination to include “gender identity.” In many states that didn’t fight back against this change, schools are now mandated to allow biological boys into girls’ restrooms and locker rooms. These rules took effect on August 1st and apply to any school from kindergarten through college that receives federal funding. With a single act, the Biden-Harris administration threatened decades of progress and opportunity for females and jeopardized their rights to safety and access within our education systems.
But not in Idaho. We passed state laws protecting the safety and privacy of girls and women in schools, and we also joined the nation’s first Title IX lawsuit with Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana to keep these rules from applying to our respective states. In June, we were granted a preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Court judge. The judge noted we were likely to succeed in showing the administration’s new rules violate the First Amendment, the Spending Clause of the Constitution, and Title IX itself. Since then, other states followed our example and also gained a preliminary injunction.
Unfortunately, these injunctions only apply to the states that pushed back. Students in half the country are not protected from this dangerous social engineering. It is our hope that the Supreme Court of the United States will decide to take this issue up quickly in their next term since other federal circuit courts are dealing with similar suits. Idaho kids are protected for now, but other kids across our country are anxiously waiting for adults to be responsible and make good decisions. I’m grateful that Idaho parents – for now – have one less thing to worry about as our kids head back to school. It’s hard enough being parents without enduring the results of horrible policy.
My office has always stood up for Idaho families and kids, and we always will. Regardless of the challenges we all face, I hope you and the children in your family enjoy a safe and productive school year. We only get so much time with our kids before they are off into the world. Every second is a precious opportunity to guide them and help them grow into thoughtful citizens, critical thinkers, and life-long learners.
