State of Montana Newsroom
Superintendent Arntzen Urges the US Department of Education to Reject New Definition of Sex
HELENA, MT – Superintendent Elsie Arntzen submitted public comment to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on September 12, 2022, urging Secretary Cardona to reject any changes to the Title IX definition of sex. The DOE opened the rulemaking process to redefine the term sex in Title IX to include gender identity. Superintendent Arntzen issued statements in June urging the US Department of Agriculture to reject the same changes because of the threat to Montana public schools’ nutrition programs. In July the Superintendent applauded Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen for suing the Biden administration over this issue.
In her recent letter, Superintendent Arntzen affirmed her support for the conclusions of Attorney General Knudsen’s letter to the DOE by stating:
“Montana does not discriminate. Montana respects local control in our schools. The proposed rule is another top-down Federal mandate that will force Montana’s 826 public schools to focus on regulating this new definition of harassment instead of allowing them to focus on student success. Montana’s nearly 150,000 students deserve better.
This Federal mandate goes against Montana’s independent spirit and squashes the freedom of speech and expression that are so important to student learning.”
To read the full letter submitted by Superintendent Arntzen, please click here.
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