BRO Denounces Rollback of Title IX Protections for LGBTQ+ Students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2026
Contact: media@basicrights.org
Basic Rights Oregon Denounces Rollback of Title IX Protections for LGBTQ+ Students
Without federal protections, Oregon Student Athletic Association’s policies to protect queer and trans youth are even more critical.
Portland, Ore. — The Department of Education announced on Monday, September 28 that it has formally rescinded the Biden-era Title IX interpretation that gave sex-based discrimination protections to students based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Basic Rights Oregon condemns this decision that further harms trans athletes and diminishes protections for sexual assault survivors. The department claims this will protect women's sports, but we know that our federal government doesn’t actually care about protecting women and girls. If they did, they would invest in their success, not roll back protections. Removing these safeguards puts all student athletes at risk of not just discrimination but bullying and abuse at the hands of their classmates, coaches, and administrators.
Since federal Title IX enforcement will no longer apply to sexual-orientation based harassment, the issue would instead fall under a local school's anti-bullying policies or state non-discrimination laws. The Oregon Department of Education, and OSAA, explicitly protects students from discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, in the classroom and in sports.
Revoking the 2024 rule does not change schools' obligations to protect their queer and trans students. Basic Rights Oregon urges families and community members to focus on preventing their own schools from rolling back these critical protections.
"Trump’s administration continually weaponizes policies against LGBTQ+ youth while at the same time making women and girls less safe across the country,” said Kyndall Mason, Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon. “We are lucky to live in a state that protects LGBTQ+ athletes and sees the value in all students learning teamwork, belonging, and camaraderie through sports."
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Basic Rights Oregon is the state’s largest and longest running nonprofit LGBTQ2SIA+ advocacy group. Our mission is to ensure that all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Oregonians experience equality by building a broad and inclusive politically powerful movement, shifting public opinion and achieving policy victories. For more information, visit www.basicrights.org.