FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 12, 2023

Contact: Ian Fury

Gov. Noem and Colleagues Oppose Biden’s Proposed Changes to Title IX

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and 24 of her fellow Republican governors sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona opposing the Biden Administration’s proposed rule changes regarding Title IX and the fairness of girls’ and women’s sports. You can read the letter here. 

“The proposed rule could prevent states from enforcing our duly-enacted statutes protecting fairness in women’s and girls’ sports,” wrote Governor Noem and her colleagues. “If not withdrawn, we are gravely concerned about the impact that the Department’s wholesale reinvention of Title IX’s terms would have on states’ ability to enforce their laws and policies as written.”

Governor Noem has been a leader in the country for fairness in girls’ and women’s sports. Last year, she signed the toughest bill in the nation to protect girls’ sports. She followed that action by leading a letter co-signed by 15 Republican governors urging the Biden Administration not to take this action. That letter stated, “if your administration chooses to move forward with these reinterpretations of Title IX…our states will have no choice but to pursue avenues to redress any harm that is done to our children as a result.”

“Defending the many hard-fought, historic athletic achievements over the last half century is far more than a matter of safety for female athletes. It also protects essential fairness.” continued Governor Noem and the other governors. “This administration apparently sees no irony that its policies validate an average male athlete stealing the recognition from a truly remarkable female athlete whose lifelong athletic discipline and achievements are discarded based on a deliberate misreading of a law whose very purpose was to protect, preserve, and encourage women’s athletics.”

Governor Noem was joined by the following Republican governors in issuing the statement: 

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. 

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