A coalition of six Republican state attorneys general has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, challenging the recent changes to Title IX. This federal law prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.
The lawsuit, led by Kentucky and Tennessee, alleges that the expanded protections for LGBTQ students and revisions to campus sexual assault rules exceed the president’s authority and infringe on states’ rights.
The changes to Title IX, announced by the Biden administration, aim to protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex. However, the attorneys general argue that these changes override state laws regulating school locker rooms and bathrooms, potentially putting young women at risk.
Texas Attorney General (Credits: Hoodline)
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti stated, “The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms.” He emphasized that Title IX has historically protected women’s privacy and safety in private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms, and that federal bureaucrats lack the power to rewrite laws passed by elected representatives.
This lawsuit is the fourth in two days, following suits from nine states on Monday contesting transgender student protections. The legal challenges reflect the ongoing partisan conflict over gender issues in schools, which have gained prominence in recent years.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen criticized the changes, stating that they abandon protections for girls and women to appease the “woke left.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed that public universities in Texas would not follow the changes if upheld in court, calling them a “ham-handed effort to impose a leftist belief onto Title IX.”
Joe Biden (Credits: The Hill)
The Biden administration’s changes to Title IX may conflict with laws passed in over a dozen Republican-led states, which restrict transgender students’ access to school restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
The administration has yet to finalize a separate rule governing athletics eligibility, which would prohibit schools from categorically banning transgender student-athletes from sports teams that match their gender identity.
