A federal judge, appointed by George W. Bush, struck down Joe Biden’s effort to promote transgender inclusion in education. The judge, Danny C. Reeves, deemed the Department of Education’s initiative as unconstitutional and beyond the agency’s powers. He criticized the move as an attempt to circumvent the proper legislative process and drastically alter the application of Title IX.
The Biden administration had introduced a new interpretation of Title IX in April, displacing the previously established guidelines from the Trump era. These alterations, scheduled to be implemented on August 1, sought to expand the umbrella of Title IX, a law enacted in 1972 to prevent sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs.
The revised regulations broadened the protections under Title IX to encompass sexual orientation and gender identity issues. Additionally, they required schools to address a wider range of sexual harassment incidents, enhancing their accountability in investigating such complaints.
“These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, said in a call with reporters.
The rules deliver on a key campaign promise for Mr. Biden, who declared he would put a “quick end” to the Trump-era Title IX rules and faced mounting pressure from Democrats and civil rights leaders to do so.
Even though the new interpretation did not specifically address the issue of men claiming to be women so they could play women’s sports, it implies that any educational institution doing so will face a federal investigation.
While the regulations released on Friday contained considerably stronger protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students, the administration steered clear of the lightning-rod issue of whether transgender students should be able to play on school sports teams corresponding to their gender identity.
The administration stressed that while, writ large, exclusion based on gender identity violated Title IX, the new regulations did not extend to single-sex living facilities or sports teams. The Education Department is pursuing a second rule dealing with sex-related eligibility for male and female sports teams. The rule-making process has drawn more than 150,000 comments.
Under the revisions announced on Friday, instances where transgender students are subjected to a “hostile environment” through bullying or harassment, or face unequal treatment and exclusion in programs or facilities based on their gender identity, could trigger an investigation by the department’s Office for Civil Rights.
Several states sued, resulting in injunctions that prevented the regulations from going into effect in 26 states.
BACKGROUND:
The Biden administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court was denied; see .
Thursday’s ruling covers the entire United States.
🚨Huge win! Biden’s radical Title IX rewrite has been defeated in court again. For now, Hoosier girls and girls nationwide are protected from biological males being able to infringe on their private spaces. Proud to be a part of the coalition of like-minded AGs fighting for this… pic.twitter.com/Uk66gBMd50
— AG Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) January 9, 2025
More importantly, it brings this whole sorry tale to an end. There is no way Biden’s Department of Education can get an appeal to the Supreme Court and have a ruling before January 20. The mission for Trump’s Secretary of Education, before he locks the doors and turns out the lights at that department, is to eradicate all traces of this nonsense and fire everyone who worked on this travesty.
