A federal appeals court has upheld the blocking of key parts of the Biden administration’s new Title IX rules and granted an expedited hearing in October.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Wednesday to prevent the rules from taking effect on August 1, just before most schools begin the school year. The rules, issued by the U.S. Department of Education, were intended to protect students from discrimination based on their gender identity and sexual orientation.
Chief Justice Jeffrey Sutton wrote in the majority opinion that all of the panel’s judges agreed that key parts of the rules should not take effect on August 1.
“It is difficult to imagine how all schools covered by Title IX will be able to meet this host of new obligations when the definition of sex discrimination remains generally prohibited,” Sutton said. “Even more difficult is to ask how schools will be able to adequately train their teachers on compliance in this unusual environment and with so little time before the start of the new school year.”
Judge Andre Mathis wrote in a dissenting opinion that he would grant a partial stay as requested by the Department of Education.
“I am aware of plaintiffs’ argument that the benefits of implementing the unchallenged provisions of the rule are outweighed by the costs or confusion of a piecemeal implementation,” Mathis wrote. “But most of the costs are attributable to provisions that plaintiffs neither directly challenge nor cite as a source of harm.”
The lawsuit was filed by Republican attorneys general in six states – Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a statement that Title IX, enacted more than 50 years ago, “created equal opportunities for women and young girls in school and on the playing field.” The Sixth Circuit’s ruling, he added, makes it the first appeals court “to stop President Biden’s blatant assault on these basic protections.”
“This ruling is a victory for common sense itself and a huge relief for Kentucky families,” Coleman said. “As attorney general and as a father, we will continue the fight for my daughters and for women across Kentucky to continue to reach their potential for the next 50 years and beyond.”
In June, Presiding Judge Danny Reeves of the U.S. District Court in Eastern Kentucky sided with Coleman and the other five GOP attorneys general. The judge said the Education Department was trying to “derail deeply entrenched laws” with its proposed Title IX rules.
“In essence, the Department would turn Title IX on its head by redefining ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity.’ But ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ do not mean the same thing,” Reeves wrote. “The Department’s interpretation is inconsistent with the plain language of Title IX and therefore exceeds its authority to issue regulations under that law.”
Founded in 1972, Title IX was created to prevent “discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities supported by government funding,” according to the Ministry of Education.
Coleman’s office said in a press release that schools that do not comply with the new Title IX rules risk losing their federal funding. Kentucky’s public and private schools received a total of $1.1 billion in federal funding last year.
The Biden administration introduced the rules to “build on the legacy of Title IX by making clear that all of our nation’s students have access to schools that are safe, welcoming, and respect their rights,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said earlier in a statement. The rules also would have reversed the Trump administration’s changes The law narrowly defined sexual harassment and required schools to hold live hearings in which those accused of sexual harassment or assault could cross-examine their accusers.
The Lantern has asked the U.S. Department of Education for comment on the recent ruling.
