Mansfield ISD passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning the Biden administration’s recent changes to Title IX.
The motion passed by a vote of five to one, with one trustee abstaining.
The Biden administration’s revisions to Title IX, which will take effect in August, will expand the law’s protections specifically for the LGBTQ community by mandating that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
As reported by The Dallas Express earlier this month, Carroll ISD passed a resolution condemning Biden’s Title IX changes.
“These changes may introduce confusion and ambiguity regarding the implementation and enforcement of Title IX, potentially jeopardizing the safety and well-being of students in our district,” Mansfield ISD’s resolution claimed.
“The [Mansfield ISD] Board of Trustees denounces the recent changes to Title IX regulations proposed by the Biden administration, expressing deep concern over the potential negative impact on our students and community,” the resolution read.
Mansfield ISD Trustee Keziah Farrar, who voted in favor of the resolution at the May 28 meeting, argued that Biden was not defending or protecting women with the recent Title IX changes.
“Biden is more concerned with protecting the rights of men who identify as women than women themselves,” Farrar told DX. “I will stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone who denounces these changes. We must send a clear message that we protect our girls, daughters, and female athletes.”
Other trustees also echoed what Farrar said about protecting students.
“For me it is protecting 50% of the population,” Mansfield ISD Trustee Courtney Lackey Wilson said in support of the resolution.
“The changes to Title IX are going to force us not to be able to protect them. And I think that’s what we have to remember,” Mansfield ISD Trustee Craig Tipping said in support of the resolution.
Not everyone was in favor of the move, however.
“By not respecting a pronoun change in our trans students, we are giving our district administration staff and other students a reason to disrespect and bully,” Katie Shelburne, a Mansfield ISD employee and parent, said during the public comment portion of the meeting this week.
“I don’t believe that we need to engage in a political warfare with other people,” Mansfield ISD Trustee Benita Reed, who voted against the resolution, said during the discussion.