Texas colleges could lose billions in federal funding if they comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to ignore a new federal rule enhancing nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ students, Democrats warned Monday. In a letter to Texas’s Higher Education Coordinating Board, four House Democrats from Texas stated that public colleges could violate civil rights and lose government funding if they follow Abbott’s orders to disregard the updated Title IX rule.
The new rule, effective August 1, covers discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, federal judges have temporarily blocked enforcement in 10 GOP-led states. Abbott labeled the changes “illegal” and pledged noncompliance in an April letter to President Biden.
Led by Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and signed by Democratic Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, and Sheila Jackson Lee, the letter accuses Abbott of using schools as “political pawns” and warned of severe consequences if Texas institutions fail to comply with the Title IX revisions. The lawmakers stressed that noncompliance could result in the loss of federal funding essential for scholarships and educational access.
The rule also strengthens protections for pregnant students and modifies how schools handle sexual misconduct claims. Noncompliance could jeopardize students’ civil rights, as highlighted by a recent lawsuit filed by two University of Texas at Austin professors against provisions respecting transgender students’ pronouns and abortion-related absences.
A federal judge recently supported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by blocking similar Title IX changes proposed in 2021. Each administration enforces Title IX differently, impacting federal funding. Former President Trump vowed to reverse Biden’s rule if reelected. Meanwhile, House and Senate Republicans have filed resolutions to block the new rule, and lawsuits in several GOP-led states remain pending.
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