WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration’s novel Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students has been temporarily blocked in four states after a federal judge in Louisiana found it exceeded the Education Department’s authority.
In a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty called the novel rule an “abuse of power” and a “threat to democracy.” His order blocks the rule in Louisiana, which filed suit against the rule in April, as well as in Mississippi, Montana and Idaho, which joined the suit.
The Ministry of Education defended the ruling and said it was reviewing the judge’s order.
“The Department stands by the final Title IX regulations, which will be released in April 2024, and we will continue to fight for every student,” the agency said in a statement.
The Louisiana case is one of at least seven supported by more than 20 Republican-led states fighting Biden’s rule. The rule, set to take effect in August, extends Title IX civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students, broadens the definition of sexual harassment in schools and colleges, and adds protections for victims.
Doughty, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, is the first judge to block the rule. It’s a major blow to the novel protections that have been praised by civil rights activists but criticized by opponents who say they undermine the spirit of Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
Louisiana is one of several Republican states that have laws requiring people to employ restrooms and locker rooms based on their sex assigned at birth. Transgender students are barred from using facilities that correspond with their gender identity. President Joe Biden’s rule contradicts those laws and claims to repeal them.
Louisiana’s lawsuit argued that the novel rule would force schools in the four states to pay millions of dollars to upgrade their facilities. In his decision, the judge called this an “intrusion on states’ sovereignty” and concluded that the states were likely to succeed on the merits.
His order says the rule likely violates free speech laws because it requires schools to employ pronouns requested by students. He also questions whether the Biden administration has the legal authority to expand Title IX to LGBTQ+ students.
“The Court finds that at the time of enactment, the term ‘sex discrimination’ included only discrimination against biological males and females,” Doughty wrote in his decision.
The judge expressed concern that the rule could force schools to allow transgender women and girls to compete on female sports teams. Several Republican states have laws that prohibit transgender girls from competing on girls’ teams.
The Biden administration has proposed a separate rule that would prohibit such blanket bans, but it said the newly passed rule does not apply to the sport of track and field. Still, Doughty said it could be interpreted to apply to the sport.
“The final rule applies to sex discrimination in all educational programs and activities that receive federal financial support,” he wrote. “The terms ‘program’ or ‘activity’ are not defined, but could well include athletic teams at recipient schools.”
Judges in at least six other cases are considering whether to delay Biden’s rule in a similar way. The Defense of Freedom Institute, a right-leaning nonprofit that supported the Louisiana lawsuit, welcomed Doughty’s order.
“We are confident that other courts and states will soon follow suit,” said Bob Eitel, president of the nonprofit organization and an education official in the Trump administration.
Biden issued the novel rule after previously repealing another rule created by Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, that narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and provided additional protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.
On the social media platform X, DeVos called the Louisiana decision a victory on Thursday and said Biden’s “misogynistic radical rewrite of Title IX is not only insane, it is illegal.”
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