In a recent development, federal judges in Texas and Louisiana have issued preliminary injunctions against the Biden administration's efforts to expand Title IX protections for LGBTQ students. The new rules, which were set to take effect on August 1, would require schools to protect students from all forms of sex discrimination including sexual violence and harassment. However, these judges have ruled that the Biden administration overstepped its authority and failed to adhere to the appropriate notice and comment requirements when implementing these changes.
The first ruling came from US District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana, who issued a preliminary injunction preventing the enforcement of new federal protections for LGBTQ students in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho. The judge's reasoning was that Title IX was written to protect biological women from discrimination.
Similarly, US District Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas halted President Biden's proposed changes to the interpretation of Title IX on transgender students. O'Connor had previously ruled against Obama administration attempts to expand Title IX protections for transgender students in 2016.
The Biden administration is currently appealing a previous decision blocking them from enforcing these guidelines in Tennessee and other states. They have also adopted formal, binding regulations applying Title IX to LGBTQ students, which are currently being challenged in court.
These rulings come as attempts by the Biden administration to strengthen transgender students' rights have triggered a standoff between federal and state authorities. In May, Texas Governor Greg Abbott wrote to public colleges and universities across Texas instructing them to ignore these illegal rewrites.
The Education Department's new guidelines would expand Title IX protections beyond sex discrimination based on biological sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity. This expansion is a response to a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that extended workplace sex bias protections to LGBTQ workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The Biden administration's efforts have been met with opposition from Republican-led states, who argue that these changes would put women in danger and infringe on their rights. The ongoing legal battles are expected to continue as both sides fight for their respective interpretations of Title IX.
