Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

As Introduced
135th General Assembly
    Regular Session                                    H. C. R. No. 17
       2023-2024
                              Representative Bird
              A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
            To express the General Assembly's opposition to the          1
                 United States Department of Education's                 2
                 reinterpretation of Title IX, and to express support    3
                 for the Attorney General's legal challenge to the       4
                 Department's reinterpretation.                          5
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF
OHIO (THE SENATE CONCURRING):
      WHEREAS, Congress enacted Title IX in 1972 to rectify a            6
history of sex discrimination against women in educational               7
institutions by prohibiting disparate treatment based on sex and         8
providing women with equal education and athletic opportunities;         9
and                                                                      10
      WHEREAS, For forty years following Title IX's enactment,           11
the term "sex" was consistently used and interpreted by the              12
United States Department of Education and reviewing courts to            13
mean a binary classification of people, biologically either male         14
or female; and                                                           15
      WHEREAS, In 2021, President Biden issued a sweeping                16
Executive Order, Executive Order 13988, declaring the United             17
States Supreme Court's holding in Bostock v. Clayton County, 590         18
U.S. 644, regarding employment law anti-discrimination                   19
protections under Title VII changed the meaning of all federal           20
H. C. R. No. 17                                                    Page 2
As Introduced
laws governing and prohibiting sex discrimination, and                      21
furthermore, directed all federal agencies to review existing               22
regulations for compliance with Bostock's holding unless a law              23
contains sufficient indications to the contrary; and                        24
      WHEREAS, The Executive Order represents a vast                        25
overstatement of the holding in Bostock, and directs the                    26
executive branch to rewrite federal law by executive fiat; and              27
      WHEREAS, Despite the usurpation of Congress's Article I               28
legislative power, various federal agencies, including the U.S.             29
Department of Education, began to adopt and attempt to                      30
promulgate rules imposing a new definition of "sex" not found               31
anywhere in existing law; and                                               32
      WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Education's                           33
reinterpretation of Title IX preempts Ohio law governing                    34
athletics and compels the State to choose between enforcing                 35
existing state law or adhering to a new interpretation of Title             36
IX, thus requiring the State and universities to incur costs                37
related to reviewing and updating policies to ensure compliance             38
with the current Administration's reinterpretation, and credibly            39
threatening the loss of federal funding and the imposition of               40
substantial penalties through private suit if the new                       41
interpretation is not applied in full; and                                  42
      WHEREAS, The Department's redefinition of "sex" conflicts             43
with the plain meaning of Title IX and its operative                        44
regulations, and accordingly, the reinterpretation is not                   45
entitled to deference and exceeded the agency's legal authority             46
to implement; and                                                           47
      WHEREAS, Redefining "sex" for purposes of Title IX                    48
undermines the fundamental protections established by Title IX              49
that safeguard equal education and athletic opportunities for               50
women in Ohio and across the country; and                                   51
H. C. R. No. 17                                                    Page 3
As Introduced
      WHEREAS, On April 30, 2024, Ohio Attorney General Dave                52
Yost, joined by the attorneys general from four other states,               53
brought suit against the U.S. Department of Education for its               54
unlawful reinterpretation of Title IX; now therefore be it                  55
      RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 135th General                   56
Assembly of the State of Ohio, express our fervent opposition to            57
the U.S. Department of Education's unlawful reinterpretation of             58
Title IX and redefinition of the word "sex"; and be it further              59
      RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 135th General                   60
Assembly of the State of Ohio, support and commend Ohio Attorney            61
General Dave Yost for bringing suit against the Biden                       62
Administration's U.S. Department of Education for its unlawful              63
reinterpretation of Title IX; and be it further                             64
      RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 135th General                   65
Assembly of the State of Ohio, express our unwavering support               66
for equal education and athletic opportunities protections for              67
women assured by Title IX; and be it further                                68
      RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives              69
transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the                70
news media of Ohio.                                                         71