Sponsors (45)
Adds biology-based statutory definitions of “sex,” “male,” and “female” to Title IX and applies them to federally funded education programs.
Official title: To clarify that for purposes of Federal nondiscrimination requirements applicable to education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance, discrimination prohibited under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is based on the biological reality of sex.
Introduced May 13, 2026 by Jodey Cook Arrington · Last progress May 13, 2026
The bill provides clearer, immediate legal rules for when and how sex is defined for Title IX and sex‑segregated educational policies, at the cost of excluding some transgender and intersex people from protections and imposing faster, potentially costly compliance and litigation burdens on schools and governments.
Students, staff, and educational institutions will have a single, statutory (biological) definition of 'sex' to guide Title IX sex‑segregated programs and policies, giving schools clearer legal standards for admissions, athletics, and facilities decisions.
Schools and colleges that receive federal funds become immediately subject to the Act's protections and requirements on enactment, providing clear legal certainty about when the law and its changes begin to apply.
Transgender students — and some women born with congenital differences or who have medically transitioned — could be excluded from programs, facilities, or sex‑segregated protections that align with their gender identity, reducing access and creating potential harm and inconsistency in protections.
Schools, colleges, and other educational agencies may face increased litigation and administrative burdens revising policies and defending compliance, a problem made worse by the law taking effect immediately for federally funded institutions.
Taxpayers, state and local education agencies, and institutions could incur meaningful compliance costs (updating forms, trainings, policies, and potentially facilities), including for entities that receive new federal funds after enactment and must come into compliance quickly.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Changes Title IX's definitions by adding statutory, biology-based definitions of “sex,” “female,” and “male” for use in Title IX enforcement. The definitions specify sex as biologically determined (male or female) and describe female and male in terms of reproductive gamete production, and they apply to any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance on or after enactment. The bill takes effect on the date of enactment.