Landmark US civil rights legislation protecting women from sex discrimination has been redefined to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s “gender identity” instead.

This means rules that used to protect women and girls’ spaces from men might now be used to ensure biological males who identify as women can access those same spaces.

It is unclear how this will be applied to female bathroom and changing areas and to female sports competitions.

The new interpretation of the Title IX protections, issued by the US Department of Education on Friday, April 19, apply to all schools and universities that receive federal funding.

According to the executive, such educational institutions cannot carry out “different treatment or separation on the basis of sex,” which includes a prohibition on any policy or practice that “prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity.”

Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Rachel said, “the Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, threatens student safety and privacy, and undermines fairness in women’s sports.”