The Biden Administration’s attempt to expand the scope of Title IX regulations was struck down on Thursday, Jan. 9, after a string of legal challenges by more than 20 states. The ruling by Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky renders the new Title IX regulations invalid nationwide.
The decision was a response to a lawsuit filed by six states – Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia – which challenged the validity of the new regulations. The ruling upholds Reeves’ previous ruling in June 2024 which granted a preliminary injunction, blocking the new protections from taking effect in those states. Reeves had stated that the new policy would “derail deeply rooted law.”
Title IX was signed into law in 1972 to protect from “discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance,” according to the Department of Education.
The Department of Education finalized changes to Title IX in April 2024. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the changes were intended to “build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming and respect their rights.”
The new Title IX regulations expanded the definition of sex-based discrimination and harassment to include “discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.”
In Reeves’s 15-page ruling, he stated that the department’s attempt to broaden the definition of sex-based harassment and discrimination exceeded its authority and would render Title IX meaningless.
“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… expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head,” Reeves wrote.
Reeves found that the new rules violate the Constitution, as they would inevitably create issues with speech related to names and pronouns regarding a student’s or others’ gender identity.
The ruling agreed with the complaining states that the expanded definition of sex discrimination and sex-based harassment would compel teachers and others to use names and pronouns out of fear, violating the First Amendment. The government, Reeves wrote in his decision, is not allowed to “chill speech or compel affirmance of a belief with which the speaker disagrees.”
The new Title IX regulations also attempted to expand protections for those discriminated against based on pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions. While these provisions were not challenged by the states, rather than deciding on parts of the regulation that were valid, Reeves concluded that the “challenged provisions fatally taint the entire rule.”
As The Kentucky Lantern reported, a Kentucky law passed in 2022, which banned transgender girls and women from playing on their schools’ sports teams, would have conflicted with the Title IX regulations.
The decision to strike down the new Title IX rules drew criticism from advocacy groups. Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, stated that the decision “displays extraordinary disregard for students who are most vulnerable to discrimination and are in the most need for federal protections under the Title IX rule.”
Several Republicans, including Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, celebrated the ruling. Skrmetti stated the ruling was “a huge win for Tennessee, for common sense and for women and girls across America.”
The Department of Education has not yet commented on the decision.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Howard.
