The Biden administration has scrapped plans to prohibit states from banning transgender athletes from participating in school sports.
According to Reuters, Biden’s Department of Education withdrew the proposed rule from the federal register on Friday afternoon.
The rule, if it went into effect, would have barred schools from banning transgender athletes from participating in sports teams different from their sex assigned at birth.
According to Outkick, the Education Department explained its reasoning for withdrawing the proposed rule in a statement.
”The Department recognizes that there are multiple pending lawsuits related to the application of Title IX in the context of gender identity, including lawsuits related to Title IX’s application to athletic eligibility criteria in a variety of factual contexts. In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time. Therefore, the Department hereby withdraws the Athletics NPRM and terminates this rulemaking proceeding,” the Education Department said.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the organizations that sued the Biden administration over the rule, welcomed the move in a statement.