States sue over Biden's Title IX rule changes forcing schools to affirm transgender identity
At least five Republican-led states have filed lawsuits against the Biden administration for expanding the definition of sex in Title IX civil rights law to include "gender identity," a move state leaders fear will force schools to deprive women of protections or risk losing their federal funding.
On Monday, attorneys general in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho filed two separate lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education's new Title IX regulations, slated to go into effect in August. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits schools that receive federal funding from discriminating against women based on their sex.
Critics say the rule change will require schools to allow trans-identifying students or teachers to use the restroom that aligns with their gender identity. In addition, the revised Title IX requires teachers to use the pronouns that align with a trans-identifying student's self-expressed gender identity. The new regulations come as several Republican-controlled states have laws prohibiting trans-identified students from using bathrooms that correspond with their stated gender identity.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a standalone lawsuit against the Biden administration, with America First Legal serving as co-counsel. The lawsuit argues that the Department of Education's new Title IX regulations rely on misinterpreting the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. The 2000 ruling found that an employer cannot discriminate against a worker for identifying as gay or transgender.
"Bostock held only that terminating an employee 'simply for being homosexual or transgender' constitutes discrimination 'because of … sex' under Title VII," the Texas lawsuit states.
"The Court 'assum[ed]' that the term 'sex' means 'biological distinctions between male and female…,' and it made clear that its decision did not 'sweep beyond Title VII to other federal or state laws that prohibit sex discrimination' or address other issues not before the Court, such as 'sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and dress codes."
Texas contends that the Title IX revision "exceeds" the department's authority and stresses that the "correct interpretation" of Title IX's definition of "on the basis of sex" does not include gender identity or sexual orientation.
"Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at whim, destroying legal protections for women in furtherance of his radical obsession with gender ideology," Attorney General Paxton said in the Monday statement. "This attempt to subvert federal law is plainly illegal, undemocratic, and divorced from reality. Texas will always take the lead to oppose Biden's extremist, destructive policies that put women at risk."
Another issue addressed in the lawsuit is the rolling back of Trump-era policies that Paxton's office said helped ensure students accused of sexual harassment received a "fair hearing."
The new rules have also redefined "harassment" to include activities like calling someone by the pronouns that don't align with their gender identity, according to the lawsuit.
The Republican attorneys general in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho filed a separate lawsuit against the Title IX rule expansion.
Louisiana's State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley informed The Christian Post last week that he was working with the Louisiana governor's and attorney general's offices to "explore every option available to challenge the Biden administration on this new rule."
In their lawsuit, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and her colleagues argued that the department is attempting to "remake" the country's educational system by expanding the definition of "sex" in Title IX to include "gender identity." They assert that the term "gender identity" does not have a clear and accepted meaning.
"This is all for a political agenda, ignoring significant safety concerns for young women students in pre-schools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities across Louisiana and the entire country," Murrill stated.
"These schools now have to change the way they behave and the way they speak, and whether they can have private spaces for little girls or women," she added. "It is enormously invasive, and it is much more than a suggestion; it is a mandate that well exceeds their statutory authority. This all coming from the people who don't even know how to define the word' woman.' I'll always stand up for children and families across this state."
Other states, such as Florida, have already indicated they will not abide by the new Title IX rules.
“Florida rejects Joe Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a social media video. “We will not comply, and we will fight back.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
