Central Michigan University has adopted the Biden Administration’s Title IX redefinitions into school policy. While the additional protections for students were intended to be a positive change, hundreds of Michigan public school parents believe the new regulations will put their children in danger.

Title IX originated in 1972, barring sex discrimination within federally funded schools and colleges.

Mary Martinez, CMU’s executive director of Civil Rights and Institution Equity, said that CMU will stand in compliance with the law, as well as the university's values.

“CMU has always been committed to doing the right thing for our campus and our community,” Martinez said. “So while federal laws might change, state laws might change, doing the right thing and holding CMU values and our expectations of one another is something that has never wavered."

Title IX revisions face challenges

The recent revisions to Title IX further protecting students from discrimination have been legally challenged by 26 states. Though Michigan is not included in that list, Michigan’s public schools are actively fighting against the redefined federal law.

The Biden-Harris administration imposed revisions to Title IX in August 2024, which prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics and pregnancy. The revisions also promote accountability from schools and colleges.

As the Title IX revisions include further protections for students in the LGBTQ+ community, conservative organizations such as Great Education Initiative (GEI) and Moms for Liberty have taken action against its implementation.

On Oct. 14, GEI filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration, specifically United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, looking to secure an injunction on the Title IX redefinition for the state.

GEI’s website urges parents to list their child’s school as “representative examples” in order to be provided with “injunction relief” if they are successful.

According to Martinez, CMU is not currently listed on GEI’s list of public schools included in the injunction.

What are some of the concerns about Title IX?

Monica Yatooma, a director at GEI, said that the primary goal of the organization’s lawsuit is preventing “biological males," regardless of gender identity, from participating in female sports.

The official fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2024 Title IX Final Rule Overview reads that: “The final regulations (of Title IX) do not include new rules governing eligibility criteria for athletic teams.”

However, GEI is pushing back against the possibility of changes within public school sports teams.

“The new Title IX redefinitions are geared towards changing the, or redefining the word 'sex' to include gender identity,” Yatooma said. “And so that would give the males an unfair advantage. And so that's why we're trying to avoid that happening. We think it's a very unfair advantage for girls and women in sports.”

GEI’s mission is to “level the playing field” for the sports teams of government-funded public schools.

Yatooma said that GEI also opposes transgender females being allowed access to private female spaces, such as locker rooms and bathrooms.

“It becomes a safety and a privacy concern because again, a biological male is at an advantage, right?” Yatooma said. “We don't know the intentions when they say, you know, oh, I identify as a female. Do they really identify as a female? We don't know that, or are they using it as an excuse to go into a private space where vulnerable women could be alone?”

Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act provides robust protections for the LGBTQ+ community, which remained unchanged by federal updates. However, CMU has made notable changes to its policies and training measures to ensure the highest level of protection for students.

What does this mean for CMU?

CMU has adopted the Title IX redefinitions into its Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy, which “applies to all CMU faculty, staff, and students regardless of sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation,” according to CMU’s website.

Isaac Ritchey

Title IX and Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity (OCRIE) Deputy Director Mary Martinez informs students of resources on campus for victims of sexual assault March 20, 2019, in the Bovee University Center Lake Huron Room. The event discussing sexual misconduct, prevention, and reporting options was hosted by OCRIE.

Under the new regulations, all federally-funded public school employees are required to partake in annual training about Title IX and their reporting responsibilities.

Martinez said that CMU will provide two types of comprehensive training for the university’s staff.

The first form of training will be available for all employees, including student employees, expanding on the definition of sex based misconduct and what is prohibited under Title IX.

The second form of training, for those involved in the resolution of sex and gender-based misconduct, will focus on in-depth response processes and how to conduct an investigation.

“We're in compliance with federal law, we're in compliance with state law, but we also have our CMU expectations,” Martinez said. “So with employees, we have the leadership standards for students, we have a student code of conduct and expectations of what it means to be a part of our community, and I think that those values we also have to remember as things might change.”