HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen today called on the Biden administration to extend its comment period on its proposed rule to force schools to allow boys to play on girls’ sports teams or lose federal funding from May 15 to July 12, which is 90 days after the rule was published in the Federal Register.

The current May 15 deadline for the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rule about “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams” allows the public only 32 days to comment on the far-reaching and controversial rule. The usual length for a rule is 90 days and a 2011 executive order instructs agencies to provide at least 60 days.

“The Biden administration’s timing of the proposed rule to force schools to allow boys to play on girls’ sports teams seems designed to stifle dissent from concerned parents and school administrators,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “Americans deserve sufficient time to review and weigh in on this radical proposal. Thirty-two days aren’t enough — Secretary Cardona must extend the deadline and allow full public comment.”

Attorney General Knudsen and 22 other state attorneys general officially made the request in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

Click here to read the full letter.