The GOP and the Trump Administration proudly promise to protect girls and women, but unfortunately, these promises won’t be kept. As of January 9, 2025, America’s K-12 girls and college-aged women are more vulnerable than ever before due to the U.S. Supreme Court reinstating Trump’s 2020 Title IX Rules. Groups like Young America’s Foundation and Moms for Liberty filed lawsuits in the fall of 2024 to block Biden’s Title IX updates.

Trump’s constructed crisis surrounding transgender individuals is intentionally obscuring the implications of this decision for the general population. Many of the Moms for Liberty members applauding these actions don’t appear to realize that their campaigns against 1% of the nation’s population have undermined protections and opportunities for their children.

How Title IX Should Protect Girls and Women

Title IX is a federal civil rights law signed by Richard Nixon in 1972 to prevent sex-based discrimination, harassment, bullying, and violence. The Department of Education’s civil rights office oversees Title IX for federally funded K-12 schools and colleges.

The most important aspect is how Title IX defines harassment and sets forth the obligation for schools to investigate reports.

2020 Title IX Definition (Trump/DeVos)

Schools must address sexual harassment if it is so “severe” AND “pervasive” that it “effectively denies” a person equal access to a school program or activity.

The Trump Administration introduced severe restrictions to favor the accused within a cumbersome 2,033-page document. Victims must testify in front of the accused, and the incident(s) must have occurred on school grounds. Time Magazine wrote, the “New rule governing assault is nearly impossible for survivors to use.” (TIME, May 14, 2020)

2024 Title IX Definition (Biden)

Schools must address sex-based harassment if it is so “severe OR pervasive” that it “denies or limits” a person’s ability to participate in a school program or activity.

Victims are not required to testify before the accused, and the school is responsible for incident(s) under their purview, including study abroad programs.

Think about any of the thousands of incidents that can and do occur and ask which definition better protects girls and women:  

• Larry Nassar and the gymnasts of Michigan State University
• A high school girl sexually assaulted once (not pervasively) by a classmate while studying in Spain
• A six-year-old elementary school girl who is inappropriately touched by a peer
• A collegiate athlete who receives inappropriate texts from her trainer
• Even Riley Gaines in a locker room with Lia Thomas

Could anyone prove that these traumas effectively denied equal access to a school or program? Read the complete comparison between the 2020 and 2024 rules created by the National Women's Law Center.

How Title IX Protections Fell Through Women’s Hands

Many administrations, including Presidents Obama and Trump, have updated Title IX. President Biden aimed to restore protections for all harassment victims and enhance support for girls and women. His proposed changes reflected two years and tens of thousands of public comments. Moms for Liberty, backed by The Heritage Foundation and co-author of Project 2025, didn't care to hear any of it and took immediate legal action. (Many of their students attend private religious schools or home schools and are unaffected by Title IX.)

As a civil rights office, the Department of Education is burdensome for private religious schools that must adhere to Title IX if they opt in to any federal funding. Known for widespread discrimination and laws that prohibit public funds for private religious schools, it's best for them to keep Title IX as narrow as possible or dismantle the Department altogether.

Notably, Biden's 2024 Title IX Rules did not yet include guidance for women’s sports. Capitol Hill testimony in December 2024 sought to uncover the influence of 10 NCAA transgender athletes and other considerations. Those ongoing testimonies were cut short with the sweeping bans that muted all conversations about women's sports.

Before Biden left office, the Supreme Court restored Trump’s full 2020 rules, erasing years of testimonies and brave storytelling by thousands of girls and women. The decision didn’t just address transgender people; it tossed the definitions that gave families more protection and accountability with their schools. 

Perpetuating manufactured culture war crises is precisely how the Trump Administration distracts its voters and draws their inadvertent support for policies that hurt them. Girls and women will be paying the price (for billionaires and privatizers to benefit) for years.