Judge Halts Biden’s Transgender Student Protections
On January 9, Chief Judge Danny Reeves struck down Biden administration rules that embraced a broader interpretation of Title IX, a 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally-funded educational settings.Under Biden’s expanded interpretation of Title IX, LGBTQ students can potentially sue if they believe they have been subjected to injustices, such as being bullied or banned from certain spaces because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The rules were introduced in the spring of 2024 and were quickly challenged by GOP attorneys general in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia, who have argued that “sex” refers only to biological sex as observed at the time of a person’s birth.Therefore, they argued, sex-based discrimination should only apply to instances where a person is discriminated against based on their assigned sex at birth and not their gender identity.The lawsuit also challenged a provision allowing transgender students to sue school facilities that align with their gender identity.Reeves, of the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, blocked the rules from taking effect in those states by arguing that “sex” and “gender identity” are different concepts.
He sided with the attorneys general, finding the rules “unlawful.”The judge said that schools in states that sued over implementing the rules “need not comply” with the administration’s mandate.
