State education chief questions how new discrimination rules impact school bathrooms, sports
Cade Brumley wants to know if Louisiana schools could face financial penalties

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley is asking federal officials whether new sex discrimination rule changes proposed by the Biden administration will require Louisiana public schools to open all bathrooms and girls sports teams to transgender students or face financial penalties.

"We shouldn’t discriminate against any children in any school,” Brumley said in an interview. "But at the same time, I don’t think it is appropriate for biological males to be in the little girls bathrooms. And I think that would be an opinion shared by a majority of citizens in the state of Louisiana.”

The letters stem from a June 23 proposal by the U.S. Department of Education that would vastly expand the reach of Title IX, which turned 50 last month and was aimed at ending sex-based discrimination in education and elsewhere.

The proposal, among other things, is touted as a way to strengthen protections for LGBTQ students “who face discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

"As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of this landmark law, our proposed changes will allow us to continue that progress and ensure all our nation’s students, no matter where they live, who they are, or whom they love, can learn, grow and thrive in school,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that accompanied the plan last month.

In a letter to Cardona’s agency, Brumley asked whether it would be discriminatory under Title IX for schools that get federal aid “to prohibit a student from using a restroom and/or locker room based on gender identity if the gender identity conflicts with the student’s biological sex as indicated on the student’s birth certificate.”

Brumley asked what action federal officials would take and whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture would withhold federal school breakfast and lunch funds for the offending school.

"It is hard for me to even comprehend that the federal government would consider taking away meals from our neediest children because of some philosophical beliefs they hold,” Brumley told a reporter. He said the issue is especially serious in Louisiana because roughly 70% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

The state collected $284 million in federal aid for school breakfasts and lunches in 2019-20, the most recent tally available.

One of Brumley’s letters was sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which in May issued a memo that spells out possible sanctions for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Brumley also asked whether Louisiana public schools would be seen as discriminatory if they banned transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, who backed Brumley’s selection as superintendent two years ago, last month allowed a bill to become law without his signature that would bar transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports. The measure won lopsided approval in the Legislature earlier this year.

Federal officials said they will issue a separate proposal on whether and how to change Title IX as it applies to athletic teams. The proposed changes are undergoing a 60-day public comment period.

Brumley said he has been asked about the proposed new policies by educators.

"I have heard that there are systems that are concerned about what they might need to do, and obviously, I have heard from members of the public who think this is a very serious issue,” he said.

Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, which says it advocates for traditional family values, said his group is "grateful that Attorney General Jeff Landry and state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley are working hard to protect Louisiana children from harmful policies being pushed by the Biden administration."

Brumley also asked the U.S. Department of Education whether the state would run afoul of new Title IX rules if teachers decline to use a student’s preferred gender identity pronoun.

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