A proposed Title IX rule by the Biden-Harris administration was withdrawn on Friday, Dec. 20. This proposed rule would have required all publicly-funded schools to allow athletes to participate in female sports if those individuals identify as female.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced earlier this year that 18 school boards filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration in response to the proposed rule. The Rapides Parish School Board was included in that lawsuit and was the first school board in Louisiana to file suit.

RPSB Superintendent Jeff Powell provided the following statement in response to the withdrawal of the proposed rule: 

“We were excited to hear about the Biden Administration’s pulling of their proposed Title IX regulations that would have redefined biological sex and potentially put our female students in harm’s way. As cited in a recent news article, it was because of the over 125,000 public comments and numerous lawsuits that led to this action. I am thankful that the Rapides Parish School Board, our attorney, Mike Johnson, and the Alliance for Defending Freedom stood up to this attempt by the federal government to create chaos in our public schools. We are also thankful for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and her support for Rapides Parish and our great state in leading this fight.”