WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Katie Britt has joined a new Republican bill that would define sex under Title IX exclusively by biological sex, a proposed change that opponents say would remove explicit federal education-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students.
The Title IX Clarification Act, introduced in the Senate July 30 by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., would amend the 1972 civil rights law to say that discrimination barred in federally funded education programs is based on “the biological reality of sex.” Britt, R-Ala., is among 10 co-sponsors. The measure was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where no further action has been recorded.
The legislation says Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination does not include discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would apply beyond school sports to federally funded education programs and activities generally.
Britt said the measure is needed to put into federal law the Trump administration’s policy on gender and Title IX.
“President Trump has taken decisive action through executive orders to protect young women on campuses across the country,” Britt said in an Aug. 5 news release. “Now, we must ensure these protections are codified into federal law.”
She also accused the Biden administration of allowing Title IX “to be abused in ways that permitted biological men to infringe on girls’ sports and spaces.”
The bill follows President Donald Trump’s January executive order directing federal agencies to recognize only two sexes and his February order addressing transgender participation in girls’ and women’s athletics. The Education Department subsequently said it would enforce the first Trump administration’s 2020 Title IX regulations rather than the Biden administration’s 2024 rule, which had expanded the department’s interpretation of sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. The Biden rule had already been blocked in some states and was later vacated by a federal court.
Supporters of Britt’s bill describe it as a measure to preserve athletic opportunities and sex-separated spaces for women and girls. Critics say its reach is far broader than athletics and would weaken protections for transgender, nonbinary and LGBTQ+ students facing discrimination, harassment or exclusion at school.
The National Education Association, opposing the House version of the bill, said the measure would narrow protections for transgender students in athletics, sex-separated facilities and other education programs. The union said the proposal would undermine Title IX’s purpose of preventing education discrimination.
A House version, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, was approved by the House Education and Workforce Committee in a party-line 18-15 vote July 21.
The new bill is the latest in a series of Britt-backed federal efforts targeting transgender participation in institutions or activities designated for women and girls.
In January 2025, Britt co-sponsored the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, sponsored by Alabama’s other senator, Republican Tommy Tuberville. That bill would have required federally funded schools to base eligibility for women’s athletic programs on reproductive biology and genetics at birth. It failed to clear a Senate procedural vote in March, 51-45, short of the 60 votes needed to advance.
After that vote, Britt said she was “proud to vote” for the measure and called it a way to protect opportunities for female athletes. “I will continue to fight to provide girls and women the opportunity to compete safely in sports for generations to come,” she said.
This month, Britt also joined Blackburn, Tuberville and other Republican senators in introducing the Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Integrity Act. The proposal would amend the organization’s federal charter to limit membership to women who meet its genealogical and other membership requirements. Britt’s office said the bill was intended to bar transgender women from membership.
Britt’s office portrays the Title IX and DAR proposals as protections for women and girls. LGBTQ+ advocates and education groups argue that such measures single out transgender people for exclusion and could deny students protections against discrimination in education.
The Senate bill remains pending.