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星期四, 5月 18, 2023

麻州總檢察長聯合領導聯盟催促聯邦反歧視法保護變性運動員

 AG CAMPBELL CO-LEADS COALITION IN SUPPORT OF FURTHERING FEDERAL ANTIDISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER ATHLETES

Coalition Also Provides Revisions to Proposed Federal Ruling That Guarantees Inclusion and Acceptance of Trans Athletes in K-12 Sports

 BOSTON – Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell co-led a multistate coalition of attorneys general in submitting comments in support of robust anti-discrimination protections for transgender students. The coalition has issued a letter in response to a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) that would clarify how schools receiving federal funding can remain in compliance with Title IX, a federal civil rights statute, when determining a transgender student’s eligibility to participate on school athletic teams. 

“By strengthening protections for transgender student athletes, we are sending a message that hate and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated, and that we will continue to stand with the trans community in the face of an unprecedented wave of politically motivated attacks,” said AG Campbell. “All students, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation deserve the opportunity to participate in school sports, and my office will always advocate on behalf of their right to do so.” 

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities. Significant recent legal developments related to the interpretation of Title IX underscore the need for USDOE to clarify that Title IX’s broad prohibition against differential treatment on the basis of sex includes discrimination based on gender identity. Federal appeals courts have recognized that Title IX’s bar against sex discrimination prohibits discrimination against transgender students. 

According to the letter sent earlier this week to USDOE Secretary Miguel Cardona, there are an estimated 300,000 transgender youth between the ages of thirteen and seventeen in the United States. The letter makes clear that athletic participation has been linked to academic achievement and improved academic performance – and that discrimination and exclusion based on one’s transgender status causes tangible and real educational, economic, emotional, and health harms – harms that are particularly grave in light of the heightened rates of depression, substance use disorders, and suicide among transgender students. 

In the letter, AG Campbell and the coalition expressed support for the proposed rule’s clarification that schools violate Title IX when they categorically ban students from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identities.  

The coalition also put forth recommendations for revisions of the proposed rule to effectuate Title IX’s broad protections against discrimination, including:

 

·       Prohibiting schools from relying on alleged fairness or safety concerns to disallow transgender students from participating consistent with their gender identity at the elementary school, middle school, high school, and intramural college sports levels. 

·       Protecting students’ privacy by prohibiting requirements such as blood testing, physical examinations, medical documentation or medication interventions, or reliance on government-issued identification documents, for transgender youth to participate fully in sports. 

·       Specifying that the Administration’s rules under Title IX do not prohibit States from establishing broader protections for transgender athletes under their own state anti-discrimination laws.

 This letter is part of the AG’s Office’s efforts to address hate and bias in school sports, in all its forms. During the Fall 2022-2023 school year, the AG’s Office, alongside the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education Commissioner, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, and the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association, hosted 12 regional trainings across the state for school and athletic leadership. The AG’s Office is committed to securing the civil rights of all students in Massachusetts. 

AG Campbell was joined in filing this comment letter by the attorneys general of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. 

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