SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-15th) has introduced legislation that would allow local schools to provide sex-segregated bathrooms, locker, rooms, sports teams, and academic programs.

The “Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act” was introduced last week and is the first bill sponsored by Miller, elected to represent part of the Metro East last November.

The legislation comes in response to a Biden administration Executive Order that bans discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The order, which invokes 1964 Civil Rights laws, says in part:

“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.  Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes.” 

Miller says the order threatens to misinterpret the landmark 1972 Title IX reform that allows for equal opportunity for women.

“Title IX was created to enhance opportunities for women, not threaten their safety. This is why I’m sponsoring the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act. I want to make it clear that the definition of sex in Title IX means biological sex, not gender identity. My goal is to protect spaces like bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams for women like my five daughters, and so many others across the country,” Miller said in a news release announcing the bill.

The bill has been assigned to to the House Committee on Education and Labor.