A group of Republican lawmakers is asking that Tennessee universities not include LGBTQ people under federal anti-discrimination laws. The move comes after a federal court temporarily blocked new guidelines by the Biden Administration, which solidified LGBTQ inclusion under Title IX protections. That allows a university to take action when a student or faculty member faces discrimination.
In a letter to Eastern Tennessee State University, State Rep. John Ragan says protecting LGBTQ people under Title IX would quote “be interpreted as violating state law.”
Aimee Sadler is a senior at the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the College of Social Work. As a lesbian who exists outside the gender binary, she says school was difficult before she had the protection of Title IX.
“When I was in high school, I had slurs painted on my locker, and the administration didn’t really have a lot that they could do to protect me. Now with Title IX protections, that can be considered a hate crime. That’s something that the school would have to take action on and not just say, ‘Oh, we’ll clean it up, and don’t worry about it,” she says.
Sadler’s concerns aren’t just for her own well-being.
“Whenever this legislation comes out or whenever there’s a letter of recommendation, we seem to shift in what we are able to focus on. There was a letter sent last year on a racially motivated topic, and it changed the way we were able to act and have conversations around certain racial issues,” Sadler says.
“(The LGBTQ community is) at the highest risk for a lot of adversity because of legislation like this. It can force people back into the closet. It can force people to mask who they are or to be afraid to fully participate.”
So far, ETSU is the only public university in Tennessee to confirm receiving a letter regarding its Title IX protections for LGBTQ people.
A spokesperson says the university’s legal team is still reviewing the letter. State lawmakers have asked for a response by Friday.
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