The U.S. Department of Education confirmed a whistleblower’s allegations that the agency violated a federal court order while handling Title IX cases tied to gender identity and sexual orientation, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Background
In January 2021, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13988, which told federal agencies to combat discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights then issued guidance documents in June 2021, which twenty states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia, sued to block.
A federal court injunction was issued in July 2022, blocking the department from using those guidance documents against the states that sued. However, a whistleblower, Timothy Mattson, alleged that the department continued to process complaints involving gender identity and sexual orientation despite the court order.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigated Mattson’s allegations and found that the department had indeed violated the court order. The OSC report stated that the department’s leadership had actively engaged in efforts to thwart at least one OCR regional office from following the plain and unambiguous meaning of the court order.
Consequences
The department’s admission of violating the court order has raised concerns about the agency’s commitment to following the law. The OSC has recommended that the department take corrective action, including discipline against current or former employees and relief for affected workers.
The incident has also sparked debate about the role of the federal government in enforcing Title IX, a law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. Pro-life advocates and supporters of parental rights have argued that the department’s actions undermine the rights of parents and students to make decisions about their own education.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
