Crapo Joins Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Permanently Restore Biological Sex Standard

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined 10 of his Senate Republican colleagues to introduce the Title IX Clarification Act, which would ensure Title IX anti-discrimination requirements tied to federal education funding are based on biological sex and not "sexual orientation or gender identity."

"The original intent of Title IX was to protect women's educational and athletic opportunities," said Crapo. "In a recent decision on Idaho's first-in-the-nation law to ensure these opportunities do not go to biological males, the Supreme Court of the United States correctly ruled Title IX allows states to apply a biology-based understanding of maintaining separate sports categories. The Title IX Clarification Act preserves the existing framework of the law while making clear its protections are based on the biological definition of sex."

The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), Jim Justice (R-West Virginia), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Tim Sheehy (R-Montana).

House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) led introduction of companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

Background

For more than 50 years, Title IX has protected equal educational opportunities by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. In recent years, however, ideologically driven efforts have sought to redefine the law beyond Congress's original intent, creating uncertainty for schools and undermining protections for women and girls.

At the beginning of his second term, President Trump revoked a Biden-era Executive Order that directed the U.S. Secretary of Education to interpret Title IX anti-discrimination language "on the basis of sex" to cover "discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity."

Title IX Clarification Act of 2026

The Title IX Clarification Act would make clear that the term "sex" refers only to an individual's biologically determined status as male or female where Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Specifically, this legislation would:

• Restore Title IX's original meaning by affirming Congress's original intent to protect women's educational opportunities;

• Address concerns raised by the Supreme Court during the January 2026 oral arguments regarding transgender participation in women's sports. During those arguments, Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that Congress has not clearly defined Title IX's requirements for states accepting federal funds and suggested that any departure from the historical understanding of "sex" as biological sex raises Spending Clause concerns unless Congress acts explicitly; and

• Establish clear statutory definitions of "male" and "female" within Title IX, eliminating ambiguity and preventing taxpayer dollars from being used to support ideological redefinitions of sex.

Click here for bill text.

This legislation is supported by the Family Research Council (FRC), Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), American Principles Project (APP), Family Policy Alliance (FPA), Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) and Heritage Action.

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