Florida will fight Biden’s Title IX rule change, calls it ‘attempt to gaslight the country’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida plans to fight the U.S. Department of Education’s new Title IX rules that were released last week.

In a letter to superintendents obtained by Florida’s Voice, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said the rule will not take effect until Aug. 1, and that the state “will fight this.”

“At Governor Ron DeSantis’ direction, no educational institution should begin implementing any changes,” the letter stated.

The letter noted the U.S. Department of Education released rulemaking changes to the regulations implementing Title IX on April 19.

The rule “prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.”

The final regulations promote “educational equity” and “opportunity for students across the country as well as accountability and fairness, while empowering and supporting students and families.”

Diaz said the Biden administration “maims the statute beyond recognition” in an attempt to “gaslight the country into believing that biological sex no longer has any meaning.”

“In doing so, it seeks to commandeer Florida’s educational institutions and force them to violate various federal and state laws, including the First Amendment and Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, as well as statutes to protect students’ privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms,” Diaz wrote.

“In Florida, we respect parents’ rights to direct their children’s education. We protect our students’ safety and privacy. And we make sure every student is given the chance to thrive on and off campus. We will keep pressing to accomplish these goals,” the letter continued.

Diaz said he will release guidance on “how to implement it in a way that is consistent with our goal to keep Florida #1 in education.”

The Department’s rulemaking process is “still ongoing” for a Title IX regulation related to athletics, according to the press release.