COLUMBUS, Ohio — Last month, Ohio Board of Eduction member Brendan Shea introduced a resolution that opposes the Biden Administration’s guidance to expand Title IX’s discrimination definition to include gender identity and sexual orientatation.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the board voted to refer Shea’s resolution to an executive committee for further review.
What the Resolution Would Do:
- Asks Ohio lawmakers to assist districts who resist Title IX changes with “stopgap funding”
- Require schools to notify parents if a student is questioning gender identity
- Support lawsuit against Department of Agriculture that requires schools to accept Title IX changes in order to get federal nutritional assistance
- Ask state superintendent to issue letter to all public schools to view the proposed Title IX changes as unenforceable
The Ohio Board of Education met Wednesday afternoon to vote on a resolution that pushes back at federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.
Ohioans from all over came to Columbus to share their views on the resolution, which denies the expansion of Title IX to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
“It’s my sincere hope that the state Board of Education will pass this resolution to oppose the radical, and I would argue illegal, changes to Title IX,” Shea said when introducing the resolution in September.
Shea is not alone in his mission.
“Perhaps there was a reason why the fence was built, to protect my ability to make that choice,” said one public commenter on Wednesday. “The fence is an intuitive understanding that there are times and places that biological sexes should be separated like athletics. The fence is the right to have women and girls say ‘no’ we do not have to share our private spaces with biological men and boys no matter their gender identity.”
Although Shea said he created the resolution to protect students, one former Ohio student testified that it could do more harm than good.
“My dysphoria for going through the wrong puberty on top of the fear and uncertainty of coming out to my conservative family was so intense that I started to self harm and I eventually attempted suicide,” said the former student. “I had to truly be myself or it would have killed me.”
The former student expressed the importance of having an in-school support system when transitioning.
He said that if Shea’s resolution passed, that support could disappear.
“I will always be grateful for the staff that supported me and protected me. It was a relief to finally be able to focus on my school work instead of constantly being on edge. I came out to my parents that summer. I had my support system of adults, in case my parents didn’t take it well or even kicked me out of the house. This support system was crucial to have in place before coming out to my parents.”
School boards across the state and the Ohio Education Association have released statements opposing Shea’s resolution and stating that they will continue to support all students.
