Nebraska AG Hilgers joins Gov. Pillen in blasting proposed federal regulation on Title IX

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — Nebraska’s attorney general is joining Gov. Jim Pillen in condemning a recent Biden administration proposal that would make it harder for schools to block transgender youths from participating in sports based on their gender identity.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers said Tuesday that he has signed onto a letter with nearly two dozen red state attorneys general opposing the proposed regulation by the U.S. Department of Education, saying it opens the way for “many more” biological males to compete in girls and women’s sports.

The letter from the attorneys general said the proposed policy “ignores basic considerations of privacy and dignity.”

The letter follows a similar plea last week from 25 Republican governors, including Pillen.

The proposed rule, according to the Department of Education, would establish that schools violate Title IX when they “categorically ban” transgender students from participating on sports teams “consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are.”

The department added, however, that the proposed regulation also recognizes that in some instances — particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments — some schools may adopt policies that limit transgender students’ participation.

The proposed rule, the department stated, would provide a framework for developing eligibility criteria that protects students from being denied equal athletic opportunity, while giving schools the flexibility to develop their own participation policies.

Hilgers, in a press release, said that over 50 years, Title IX has allowed the country to make “enormous progress in expanding opportunities for women, both in the classroom and on courts and ballfields across America.”

“The Biden Administration wants to take us backwards with a rule that ignores science, the text and history of the law, and common sense,” Hilgers said.

Twenty Republican-led states have enacted bans on transgender athletes competing in sports consistent with their gender identity. A proposal in the Nebraska Legislature has not advanced this year.