House Republicans Back Bill Narrowing Title IX to Biological Sex

Republicans in the House of Representatives are rallying behind Representative Jodey Arrington’s (R-TX) Title IX Clarification Act, which would alter the interpretation of Title IX to apply only to biological sex.

Last week, Rep. Arrington introduced the act supporting President Donald Trump’s reversal of a Joe Biden-era executive order that instructed the Education Secretary to interpret Title IX’s prohibition on sex-based discrimination as also covering discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Rep. Arrington said this act will halt any “abuse” of Title IX by affirming that there are only two sexes. Taxpayer dollars should not be put toward such “extreme social policies,” he said.

“Title IX was created to provide equal opportunity for our daughters, not to push a radical gender ideology that jeopardizes their safety,” Rep. Arrington said, adding that the bill will restore clarity and common sense to federal law.

Many of the bill’s supporters argued that the efforts made by House Democrats to push back against this two-sex distinction undermine the intent of the law, creating more harm than good.

“When Title IX was created, the intent was clear,” said Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE). “The Title IX Clarification Act of 2026 would ensure that Title IX protections are based on the biological reality of sex, not a social abstraction.”

Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) said he agrees that the Biden-era impact on Title IX has imposed “radical gender ideology” in schools, losing what he said is the true intention behind Title IX.

“Title IX was created to protect women and girls, not erase them,” Rep. Babin said.

However, Texas State Rep. Jessica González has argued the state’s history of anti-transgender legislation erases transgender people as well.

Last year, Governor Greg Abbott signed Texas House Bill 229 – the “Women’s Bill of Rights” – defining sex under state law based on biological reproductive anatomy and requiring state agencies to classify individuals as male or female in official records and data collection.

Based on these efforts, Rep. González said that transphobia was becoming the new dominant ideology, not radical gender activism.

“In our state of over 30 million residents, we have been burning hours of legislative time, tax dollars, in front of a witch hunt on transgender Texans,” Rep. González said. “Trans people exist. Period.”