The Biden administration has withdrawn its proposed rule seeking to protect transgender student-athletes from discrimination through Title IX. A memo announcing the withdrawal explained that during the public comment period, Numerous commenters expressed concerns about the application of the proposed regulation in practice, arguing that the proposed regulation was unclear or too complex for recipients to implement, and many commenters offered alternative regulatory text for the Departments consideration to clarify, simplify, elaborate on, or substantively change the focus and impact of the proposed rule. Related 24 states file an amicus brief to convince SCOTUS to ban trans girls from sports There is no evidence that transgender girls have a significant biological advantage in sports. Additionally, a significant number of commenters included discussions of case law, scientific studies and research papers, and existing athletic association policies and practices regarding athletic eligibility criteria that, according to the commenters, supported the adoption, modification, or withdrawal of the proposed regulation. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The memo also acknowledged the multiple pending lawsuits associated with the proposed rule, as well as lawsuits related to other applications of Title IX in the context of gender identity. In light of the comments received and those various pending court cases, the Department has determined not to regulate on this issue at this time, the memo said.The Biden administration initially proposed the rule change in April 2023 to allow K-12 schools and universities to limit the participation of transgender athletes in sports while also forbidding schools from completely banning trans athletes altogether.The proposal was intended to promote fairness in competition and strike a compromise between trans advocates and those who support trans athlete bans. Trans lawmakers were not satisfied with the proposal. At the time, fourteen trans and nonbinary legislators from across the country sent a letter to Biden urging him to reconsider a rule that would sometimes allow schools to discriminate against trans athletes. There is no such thing as an acceptable compromise that limits trans Americans access to equal rights, the letter declared. When it comes to policy addressing trans athletes, our stance is this: Trans athletes belong in sports. Full stop.The rule sought to generally allow trans elementary school students to play on sports teams matching their gender identities. However, higher school levels could ban trans students from certain sports if they claim its to preserve fairness or avoid the possibility of sports-related injuries. If a schooldidban trans students from a sport, it would have had to minimize harms by providing other participation opportunities, the Department of Education said a vague condition that could be interpreted many ways.According to Advocate, some people believe the administration withdrew the rule to prevent the Trump administration from weaponizing the vagueness of the rule.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.