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American Dental Education Association


Volume 2, No. 94, April 12, 2023

Biden Administration’s Proposed Title IX Rule Allows Limited Transgendered Athletic Ban
 
The Biden administration released a copy of its forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [ [link removed] ] regarding Title IX and transgendered athletes. While the proposed rule prohibits a categorical ban on transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, it also allows schools in certain instances, particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments, to enact policies that limit transgender students’ participation on sports teams. The proposed rule would provide schools with a framework for developing eligibility criteria that protects students from being denied equal athletic opportunity, while giving schools the flexibility to develop their own participation policies.
 
If a school does decide to limit transgendered participation on sports teams, it must follow Title IX’s framework when implementing its decision. The framework requires that schools must consider various factors, including the sport, level of competition and grade level when deciding whether to limit the participation of transgender athletes in sports. It noted that some teams require advanced skills and others allow anyone to participate, such as intramural or junior varsity squads, and said rules must “reflect these differences in competition.” While elementary school sports should generally be open to transgender students, bans could be allowed for older students at the high school and college levels. The administration said the framework was to ensure objectives, such as fairness in competition.
 
According to the Department of Education’s fact sheet [ [link removed] ] , the proposed rule would apply to public, K-12 schools, as well as colleges, universities and other institutions that receive federal funding. There will be a 30-day public comment period that begins the day after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.

HRSA Awards $23M in Grants to Develop Teaching Health Center Residency Programs
 
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded $23 million to 46 grantees [ [link removed] ] to plan and develop Teaching Health Center residency programs in community-based settings.
 
The Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program supports the planning and establishment of residency training programs in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine-pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, general dentistry, pediatric dentistry and geriatrics. These planning grants will support the work of building a program, developing a training curriculum, recruiting clinical faculty, retooling workflow to integrate residents and getting accredited–all of which require resources and staffing.
 
The Biden administration has pledged to continue its support of Teaching Health Centers by funding the programs in the President’s fiscal year 2024 budget [ [link removed] ] .
 
Teaching Health Center programs prioritize training residents in community-based outpatient settings, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers.

HRSA Launches Oral Health Campaign
 
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched a new oral health literacy and education campaign. The “Healthy Mouth for Every Body [ [link removed] ] ” campaign provides a variety of materials to help the public learn more about oral health, including how to take good care of your oral health at home and the importance of seeing a dentist regularly for checkup.

Supreme Court Temporarily Halts West Virginia Transgender Law
 
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary order [ [link removed] ] allowing a transgender girl to compete on girls’ cross country and track teams at her West Virginia middle school while her appeal moves through the courts. The court’s order did not give any reasons for its decision. However, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying that states are entitled to pass laws that restrict participation in women’s or girls’ sports based on genes or physiological or anatomical characteristics.
 
The case arises from a 2021 law in West Virginia that barred boys from competing on girls’ teams in public schools based on biological sex. Lawyers for Becky Pepper-Jackson filed a complaint against the state. They asserted that her rights under Title IX and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, which Pepper-Jackson asserted prohibits a state from restricting participation in women’s or girls’ sports based on genes or physiological or anatomical characteristics, were being violated. A federal judge in West Virginia issued a preliminary injunction, allowing Pepper-Jackson to compete for more than a year and a half as the case moved forward. However, the judge eventually withdrew the preliminary injunction and issued a summary judgment in favor of the state. Pepper-Jackson appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit Court, which issued a motion prohibiting the State from enforcing the law. The state appealed the Fourth Circuit’s decision to the Supreme Court.
 
The case is currently working its way through the court system and will likely be appealed on its merits to the Supreme Court.

Michigan Medicaid Adds New Dental Benefits for Adults and Increases Reimbursement Rates
 
Michigan’s Medicaid program recently implemented coverage of new dental benefits [ [link removed] ] for adult enrollees. The new benefits, which launched on April 1, include:
 • Periodontal treatment and maintenance,
 • Sealants,
 • Root canals and
 • Crowns.

Additionally, reimbursement rates [ [link removed]. ] were increased earlier this year to 100% of the average commercial rate. The state invested $85.1 million to increase reimbursement rates and $30 million to redesigned benefits. Dr. Vince Benivegna, president of the Michigan Dental Association, believes the increase in reimbursement rates will lead more providers to participate [ [link removed] ] in the state’s Medicaid program.

Arizona Legislature Passes Bill to Increase Dental Hygienists' Scope of Practice
 
The Arizona state legislature passed a bill [ [link removed] ] that would include dental hygiene assessment and hygiene treatment under the scope of practice for dental hygienists. The bill defines dental hygiene assessment as identifying an existing or potential oral health problem that dental hygienists are educationally qualified and licensed to treat. Dental hygiene treatment planning is defined as performing a prioritized sequence of dental hygiene interventions that is predicated on the dental hygiene assessment and that is limited to those services included in the scope of practice for dental hygienists.
 
The bill will be sent to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) for consideration.

ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
 
Issues and Resources
 • Applications open [ [link removed] ] for Ryan White Part F Dental Reimbursement Program
 • Applications open [ [link removed] ] for HRSA Dental Public Health Research Fellowship
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
 • ADEA policy brief [ [link removed] ] regarding overprescription of antibiotics
 • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2023
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Brian Robinson
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
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