A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Biden administration’s Title IX rewrite that added sexual orientation and “gender identity” as protected classes under the civil rights law.

The rule change sought to revise sex-based discrimination, which critics argued would prevent federally funded schools from barring athletes who identify as transgender from participating in women’s sports. As President Joe Biden prepares to leave office, a U.S. district court in Kentucky has struck down the rule nationwide.

“When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female,” chief judge Danny C. Reeves wrote. “As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.”

Enacted in 1972, Title IX originally intended to protect female and male students and employees equally and fairly from sex-based discrimination. Failure to comply would mean jeopardize federal funding for colleges and universities.

The new rule stated discrimination based on sex included gender identity, sexual orientation, and “pregnancy or related conditions.”

“While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women,” the judge added, “it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes.”

The Biden administration issued the proposed Title IX rewrite last April without specifically mentioning transgender-identifying athletes, but Republican lawmakers and officials saw right through its intent. The rule would have taken effect on August 1, but its implementation was stayed by the Kentucky court.

More than two dozen Republican attorneys general, including those from Texas and Kansas, sued the Biden administration over the proposed rule, arguing it would conflict with their respective state laws that prohibit males athletes from competing in women’s sports. The litigation ultimately led to the court’s Thursday ruling.

Amid the pushback, the Department of Education withdrew the proposal last month after receiving more than 150,000 public comments. By that time, the case was already before the court.

The outgoing administration made the decision, knowing the Title IX expansion would never pass with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House. Trump has vowed to ban men from women’s sports.

Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated his state’s definitive victory in the case against Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who announced the amended regulation last spring.

“Another massive win for TN and the country!” Skrmetti posted on X. “This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin’s radical new Title IX rule nationwide. The court’s order is resounding victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns.”

Alliance Defending Freedom also released a celebratory statement, declaring the court’s decision “a colossal win for women and girls across the country.”

At least 25 states have passed laws restricting transgender-identifying athletes from participating in sports of the opposite sex in recent years.

THIS NEWS ITEM IS PRESENTED BY
PUTNAM BOOKS

Putnam-Imprint-Page-logo-2019_188x75.jpg

Breaking-News2.png
hero news image

Federal Judge Blocks Biden Administration’s Title IX Rewrite Protecting ‘Gender Identity’

The Biden rule, which makes ‘gender identity’ a protected class similar to sex, ‘turns Title IX ... READ MORE

A message from Putnam Books

The newest NUMA Files® novel

DesolationCode-NationalReview-570x320Final.jpg

A new, terrifying world order is being plotted…Unless the NUMA crew can stop this code of desolation in the latest in Clive Cussler’s #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Shop Now

national review

Follow Us & Share

19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701,
New York, NY, 10036, USA
Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy
View this e-mail in your browser.