PIERRE, S.D.(Press Release) – On Wednesday, Governor Kristi Noem led a coalition of 15 Republican Governors urging President Joe Biden to defend equal opportunities for girls and women. In a letter to President Biden, the governors challenge him to reject the rule and policy changes proposed by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which would completely reinterpret Title IX. Title IX was passed 50 years ago to prevent discrimination “on the basis of sex” in education and athletic competition.

“Over the past two years, we have heard calls from many in our society to ‘trust the science’ with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote Governor Noem and her colleagues. “We ask your Administration to trust the science on human biology; to realize that there are real, wonderful biological differences between women and men; to understand that those differences impact us in many ways – some subtle, some profound; to recognize that athletic competition is one of the arenas in which these differences are the most striking.”

The Governors took particular issue with the implications of these policy changes for the National School Lunch Program. “To be clear, your Administration would take lunch money away from our kids and grandkids in pursuit of a radical agenda that has no basis in science and which is not supported by the vast majority of the American people,” wrote the governors.

A federal judge recently blocked DOE’s Title IX “guidance” on the grounds that it “directly interferes with and threatens Plaintiff States’ ability to continue enforcing their state laws.” Earlier this year, South Dakota passed the toughest law in the country to defend fairness in girls’ sports.

The Governors also echoed arguments made by Republican Attorneys General, pointing out that the proposed policy changes from DOE and USDA impose new and unlawful regulatory measures in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.

The letter was led by Governor Kristi Noem and co-signed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.

You can find the Governors’ letter to President Biden here.