The governor sent the letter, regarding Title IX, to various chairmen and regents at Texas universities and community colleges, all positions appointed by Abbott and approved by the Texas Senate.

Abbott's letter argued that the law passed by Congress is based on the belief that there are only two sexes, male and female. He criticized President Biden's efforts to include gender identity and sexual orientation in Title IX, claiming that it exceeds the president's authority and imposes leftist beliefs on the next generation.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to Title IX, expanding the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. This move has received mixed reactions, with some LGBTQ+ advocates seeing it as a way to invalidate Republican-backed laws, while GOP leaders view it as an attack on existing protections for cisgender women and girls.

Governor Abbott previously directed the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency to ignore this federal law. Additionally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in an Amarillo federal court aiming to block the changes from taking effect in August. Similar litigations have been filed by six other Republican-led states challenging the Biden administration on Title IX.

Abbott argued in his latest letter that these efforts undermine Texas law, particularly the ban on transgender women competing on female sports teams in both high school and collegiate levels. However, it is important to note that the Title IX rule changes do not apply to athletics.

Legal experts have suggested that the revisions to Title IX could potentially block certain Republican-backed laws, such as bathroom restrictions. In fact, several school districts in the Dallas area have implemented policies requiring students to use restrooms aligned with their gender assigned at birth. If these policies are found non-compliant with Title IX, federal funds could be withheld from these schools.

With tensions rising between the federal government and conservative states, the battle over Title IX and LGBTQ+ rights is likely to continue. Advocates for inclusion and equal rights for LGBTQ+ individuals will closely monitor the outcome of the lawsuits filed against the changes to Title IX, while opponents argue for the preservation of existing state laws and protections for cisgender women and girls.