Judge blocks federal LGBTQ+ student protections in 4 states

An appeals court judge has overturned a previous ruling in order to block the Biden administration’s new Title IX policy—which protects LGBTQ+ students from discrimination. Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have now joined 22 other states in barring implementation of the new Title IX rules, making 26 states in total.

The ruling, handed down on Thursday by the 11th District US Court of Appeals, temporarily blocks enforcement while plaintiff’s arguments are heard and a final decision is rendered. It overturns a previous ruling issued earlier this month that dismissed complaints made by the 4 suing states.

At that time, US District Judge Annemarie Axon wrote, “Although Plaintiffs may dislike the [Department of Education’s] rules, they have failed to show a substantial likelihood of success in proving the Department’s rulemaking was unreasonable or not reasonably explained.”

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The Appeals Court disagreed, saying the suing states had “demonstrated a substantial likelihood that the district court abused its discretion in denying” an injunction barring the rule’s enforcement.

The Department of Education’s new guidance on Title IX—the 1972 law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded schools—hinges on prior court precedent. The 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v Clayton County ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans sex discrimination in the workplace, includes sexual orientation and gender identity under the umbrella of “sex.”

The Biden Administration then applied this precedent to Title IX, unveiling the new guidance in April of this year, with implementation set to begin on August 1. Under the new policy, which is still in enforcement in 24 states, schools must respect the pronouns of trans and nonbinary students and protect their access to restrooms that align with their gender identity.

Despite precedent, the Appeals Court treated the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX as something new. “The rule represents a sea change to the regulations administering Title IX by, among other things, expanding the definition of discrimination on the ‘basis of sex’ to include discrimination based on gender identity—as well as materially altering and expanding the scope of Title IX’s sexual-harassment-related regulations,” the decision read.

Although the decision is not final, it will block implementation of the law for the duration of these court proceedings. Last Friday, the Supreme Court refused to lift the injunctions in 10 of the Republican-led states suing against the law.