US president Joe Biden issued an executive order on International Women’s Day (March 8) banning gender and LGBTQ+ discrimination in educational facilities. As cited by LGBTQ Nation, the order has been named: “Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity.” It has been praised by equality advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
Biden’s order states: “It is the policy of my administration that all students should be guaranteed an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including discrimination in the form of sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual violence, and including discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.” He has called for the US education secretary to review all existing regulations across the nation which may be “inconsistent” with the order.
The order comes after Biden issued a ruling on his first day in office which outlawed any form of discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans. The president of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, referred to it as the “most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president.” Biden has also overturned several anti-LGBTQ+ policies created during Trump’s presidency, including reversing the ban on transgender people joining the military, and restoring bathroom protections for trans students.
