(The Center Square) – After years of institutions celebrating June as “Pride Month,” the U.S. Department of Education chose a starkly different course by recognizing June as “Title IX Month,” in line with other recent Trump administration efforts.
“June will now be dedicated to commemorating women and celebrating their struggle for, and achievement of, equal educational opportunity,” a department release said.
Title IX Month commemorates the 53rd anniversary of the amendment that “prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance,” the release states.
“This includes female students’ rights to sex-segregated intimate spaces and single-sex membership in sororities,” the release says.
“Throughout the month, the Department will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden Administration’s legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional actions to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX,” the release says.
The Department of Education has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated in the department’s release that “the Department is recognizing June as ‘Title IX Month’ to honor women’s hard-earned civil rights and demonstrate the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to restoring them to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Title IX provides women protections on the basis of sex in all educational activities, which include their rights to equal opportunity in sports and sex-segregated intimate spaces, including sororities and living accommodations,” McMahon said.
Culture and Policy Analyst at pro-family organization Focus on the Family Jeff Johnston told The Center Square that “Focus on the Family applauds the Department of Education for highlighting the fact that Title IX has led to significant improvements for girls and women in academics and sports.”
“However, these gains have been eroded as schools and athletic associations violate this anti-discrimination law by allowing males, who claim to be female, into girls and women’s sports,” Johnston said.
Johnston told The Center Square that “President Trump’s executive orders protecting women’s sports and eliminating DEI programs were important steps toward eliminating these radical ideologies that harm and demean all students.”
“But the Department of Education – along with the Department of Justice – must be diligent to enforce these orders,” Johnston said.
The same day the Education Department announced its recognition of Title IX Month, the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced “the first of its ‘Title IX Month’ initiatives,” as stated in the release.
These initiatives are “Title IX directed investigations into the University of Wyoming and Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado for allegedly allowing males to join and live in female-only intimate and communal spaces,” the release said.
The University of Wyoming faces an investigation from OCR for allowing “a man to join a campus sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma,” the release said.
Jefferson County Public Schools faces an investigation because of a policy that lets overnight sleeping arrangements be based on “gender identity” and is thus not sex-segregated, according to the release.
This investigation “comes amid several disturbing reports, including that parents of an 11-year-old girl in the district discovered their daughter would have had to share a bed with a male student on an overnight school trip without being notified by the school,” the release said.
“The district allegedly misleads parents by informing them that girls and boys will be separated for overnight accommodations without divulging that its definition of ‘girl’ includes boys who claim a female identity,” the release said.
