Idaho governor signs executive order opposing Title IX protections for LGBTQ+ athletes

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order Wednesday aimed to oppose changes to the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX.

The final rule took effect this month, but Idaho is one of 26 states where state officials sued the Biden administration over the Title IX changes, and have thus blocked it from taking effect.

Title IX is a federal civil rights law enacted in 1972 that prevents sex-based discrimination on any educational program that receives federal funding. In April, the U.S. Department of Education added protections for LGBTQ+ students from discrimination in schools.

The final rule seeks to protect against discrimination “based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.”

At a press conference at the Idaho State Capitol steps in Boise, Little said the executive order directs the Idaho State Board of Education to: 

Work with the State Department of Education to ensure Idaho public schools are following all of Idaho’s laws related to fairness in women’s sports and continue to update all public schools as the legal challenges to the new Title IX rules unfold.

Guarantee every female student in Idaho is provided equal opportunity in sports and school to the fullest extent, as guaranteed to them under the original Title IX rules and Idaho law.

Idaho officials, former collegiate athlete speak out against Title IX changes

Idaho was the first state to pass legislation defending women’s sports, Little said.

“These girls and women, and their families, dedicate their time, passion, and money to improve their skills and compete to win,” Little said. “They deserve a level playing field. That is why it is so important for us as a state to do all we can to protect and defend women’s sports.”

In 2020, Little signed House Bill 500 into law, which restricts transgender women from competing in women’s sports in Idaho. The bill was cosponsored by Rep. Barbara Edhart, R-Idaho Falls, and former Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, both of whom were in attendance at the press conference. 

“Title IX changed my life,” Edhart said to the crowd. “In 1972, I was 8 years old. Life was very different from women back then. People would ask me, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ I literally would tell people that I wanted to play sports, and I was told that’s not what girls do.”

Despite those comments, Edhart said she held onto her dreams, eventually playing Division I basketball through a scholarship, and coaching college basketball for 15 years.

“We made the world better for those female athletes,” Edhart said. “We are going to stand up for the rights of girls and women, not just in sports, but in all things related to Title IX rewrites.”

Riley Gaines, a former swimmer for the University of Kentucky, also spoke at the press conference. She tied for fifth place in the 200 freestyle final at the 2022 NCAA Women’s Championships against University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, who is transgender. 

Gaines said she experienced discomfort in the locker room preparing to race against Thomas. 

“I can wholeheartedly attest to the unfair composition, to the tears that I saw from not just the moms in the stands watching as their daughter be obliterated in the sport that they once loved, but the tears from the girls the place ninth and 17th and missed out on being named all Americans by one place,” Gaines said. “… I am thrilled to be here today with these legislators, with Governor Little to say that Idaho will not comply.”