The focus of attention in the days following President Joe Biden’s administration’s publication of Title IX rule revisions has been on the likely impact the changes will have on female athletes. But that is not the only concern.

Critics pointed out quickly that the updates, which were said to be intended to provide greater protection for LGBTQ students by the Biden Administration, could also be used to safeguard trans-identified males who compete on women’s sport teams.

According to Candice Jackson, an attorney who was the Acting Assistant Secretary of Education in the Department of Education under the Trump Administration, the rule change could cause further complications if it is applied with existing policies, especially with regards to schools becoming “mandatory reporters” of suspected abuse.

In a recent post on X, she wrote: “A disturbing corollary to Biden’s Title IX rule: w/policies that reflect the Ed Dept.’s view that refusing treatment ‘consistent w/gender identification’ damages mental well-being, schools will have to consider reporting ‘non affirming’ parents to Child Protective Services.”

She continued by adding that “Schools are required reporters under state laws.”

Jackson’s interpretation of the new rules leads to the conclusion that the Biden Administration views the failure to affirm the gender identity of a student as a potentially damaging action to their mental health. According to this interpretation, parents that are not proactive about affirming their child’s gender identity could be seen as contributing to the damage.

Teachers are required to report suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services. This includes parents who refuse to assist their children in a medical transition or those who oppose schools that socially transform their children.

Biden’s Title IX rewrite follows news that Illinois had already planned to redefine abuse to include a failure to accommodate gender identities. This could allow the state to take children out of homes where the parents refused to affirm their new gender identity, or to help them obtain cross-sex hormonal therapy, puberty blocking agents, or even surgery.