A federal judge struck a major setback to the Biden administration by blocking the implementation of new Title IX regulations in four states.
The guidelines obligate public schools to allow transgender students to utilize bathrooms and participate in sports teams that align with their chosen gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued a preliminary injunction against the regulations, labeling them an “abuse of power” by federal agencies and a “threat to democracy.”
The injunction, which applies to Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho, comes after Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the administration in April, with the other three states subsequently joining the legal action, the Daily Wire reports.
In his ruling, Judge Doughty emphasized the original purpose of Title IX, stating that it was “written and intended to protect biological women from discrimination.”
He argued that it is difficult to sincerely claim that, at the time of its enactment, “discrimination on the basis of sex” encompassed gender identity, sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, or sex characteristics.
Since the announcement of the new Title IX rules, more than 20 states have united in legal challenges against the Biden administration, citing potential conflicts between the federal guidelines and existing state laws that limit the participation of transgender students in girls’ sports and their access to girls’ facilities.
The Education Department unveiled the new regulations in April, prohibiting schools from enforcing blanket bans on transgender students competing in girls’ sports, with the rules set to come into effect in August.
Title IX, a landmark federal civil rights law enacted in 1972, prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.
The Biden administration’s new regulations will apply to all public K-12 schools, colleges, and universities that receive federal financial support, with the exception of the four states where the rules have been temporarily blocked by the court order.
Under the new guidelines, schools that receive federal funding are not permitted to impose wholesale bans on transgender students participating in girls’ sports teams.
However, they may exclude such students on a case-by-case basis, provided that the “sex-related criteria” used to limit or ban a transgender student from playing on their preferred gender team meet two key standards.
First, the criteria must be connected to an “important educational objective,” and second, they must “minimize harms” to the transgender student in question.
The Department of Education has cited the prevention of sports-related injuries as an example of an “important educational objective” that could justify the exclusion of transgender students from certain teams.
This issue has gained attention following incidents such as the one in North Carolina last year, where a female high school volleyball player suffered severe head and neck trauma after being hit by a volleyball spiked by a transgender player.
Another example of an “important educational objective” highlighted by the department is the maintenance of “fairness in competition.”
Female athletes at both the high school and college levels in several states have voiced their concerns about competing against transgender students who were assigned male at birth.
In response to Thursday’s court ruling, the Education Department stated that it is reviewing the judge’s order but remains committed to the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024. The department affirmed its dedication to fighting for every student’s rights and interests.
The post Trump-Appointed Judge Deals Blow to Biden’s Transgender Title IX Rules In 4 States appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Kelly H
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://resistthemainstream.org and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.