Gov. Noem and colleagues oppose Biden’s proposed changes to Title IX

PIERRE, S.D. (KOTA) - Governor Kristi Noem and 24 of her fellow Republican governors sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona opposing the Biden Administration’s proposed rule changes regarding Title IX and the fairness of girls’ and women’s sports. You can read the letter here.

“The proposed rule could prevent states from enforcing our duly-enacted statutes protecting fairness in women’s and girls’ sports,” wrote Governor Noem and her colleagues. “If not withdrawn, we are gravely concerned about the impact that the Department’s wholesale reinvention of Title IX’s terms would have on states’ ability to enforce their laws and policies as written.”

For women’s and girls’ sports fairness, Governor Noem has been a leader in the country. She signed the nation’s toughest bill to protect girls’ sports last year. She then led a letter that 15 Republican governors co-signed, urging the Biden administration not to take this action. That letter stated, “If your administration chooses to move forward with these reinterpretations of Title IX…our states will have no choice but to pursue avenues to redress any harm that is done to our children as a result.”

“Defending the many hard-fought, historic athletic achievements over the last half-century is far more than a matter of safety for female athletes. It also protects essential fairness.” continued Governor Noem and the other governors. “This administration apparently sees no irony that its policies validate an average male athlete stealing the recognition from a truly remarkable female athlete whose lifelong athletic discipline and achievements are discarded based on a deliberate misreading of a law whose very purpose was to protect, preserve, and encourage women’s athletics.”