Title IX: The Law of Unintended Consequences
July 13, 2016 12:00 ET

Is it ever acceptable to put a child in harm's way in order to advance ideology? School should be a safe place for children, and yet the Obama administration's vague new interpretation of Title IX enshrines in law a loss of student privacy and safety inside our nation's public schools. The law now includes protections for anyone to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice, regardless of their biological gender, so as to not discriminate based on a newly expanded definition of the word "sex". The White House, the Department of Education, and the Department of Justice claim the emotional safeguard this policy provides for a small population outweighs the vulnerability it creates for the majority of students, but anyone who has been paying attention over the last several years knows this has less to do with students than it has to do with the radical sexual agenda being imposed upon most if not all government-run institutions.

Join the Family Research Council, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Dr. Everett Piper, and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Matt Sharp to hear legislative, educational, and legal perspectives, and to learn what is being done to stand for students and families in response to the new interpretation of Title IX.

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler proudly represents the good people of Missouri's 4th Congressional District, which is comprised of 24 counties in West-Central Missouri. She serves on the House Armed Services, Agriculture, and Budget Committees. In the 114th Congress she was named Chairwoman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee to oversee the Administration's defense policies and ensure accountability within the Department of Defense. Vicky's Public service began in 1994 with her election as a Missouri State Representative, where she championed efforts to update Missouri's adoption laws. As a public school teacher for 11 years, she understands the importance of state and local control of education.

Vicky remains committed to serving the constituents of Missouri's Fourth District, which includes preserving the sanctity of life and working to protect traditional family values. Through her work as a co-chair of the House Values Action Team, she has worked tirelessly to ensure pro-life and pro-family provisions are included in all relevant legislation. Vicky, her husband Lowell, and their daughter, Tiffany, reside on a working farm near Harrisonville in Cass County.

Dr. Everett Piper is the fifth president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, established in 1909. President Piper is passionate about providing students with the best opportunities to impact culture, think independently, and build a biblical foundation for their beliefs. Alongside his work as president, Dr. Piper advocates for cultural change from a Christian worldview. His commentary on religion, education, and politics challenges his academic and political peers for what he calls their fallacious Orwellian duplicity of intolerant tolerance. Dr. Piper is the author of Why I Am A Liberal, and Other Conservative Ideas and the viral op-ed, "This is not a Daycare, It's a University". He also regularly speaks on the radio and writes for a number of publications.

A native of Hillsdale, Michigan, Dr. Piper and his wife, along with their two sons, have served as OKWU's First Family since August of 2002. Dr. Piper actively participates in the Bartlesville community and the Wesleyan church, and serves on a variety of councils relating to Christian leadership and thought, and public policy.

Matt Sharp, Esq., serves as legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he plays a key role on the Freedom of Conscience Team. Since joining ADF in 2010, Sharp has worked on important cases advancing religious freedom for elementary students desiring to share their faith. In Hickman v. Garcia, Sharp's efforts prompted a favorable settlement allowing an elementary student to perform a religious song at a school talent show and a policy change in the Los Angeles Unified School District. For Stites v. Fairfax County School Board, Sharp was successful in revising school policy and reinstating a National Honor Society student who was placed on probation with the local chapter because of a school policy that denied credit for church-based community service.

Sharp earned his J.D. in 2006 from the Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is a member of the bar in Georgia and Tennessee, and is admitted to practice in several federal courts of appeal and district courts.

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