Supreme Court Protects Girls From DOE’s Title IX Changes

The U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to rewrite Title IX remains blocked in 26 states following a unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Court upheld two injunctions stopping the DOE’s new rule in a 12-page order published on Friday. The DOE rule redefines “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity,” putting women at risk by permitting men to access their locker rooms, bathrooms and sports.

Title IX was originally enacted as a part of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools and education programs and providing equal opportunities for girls and women.

The DOE released the new “Final Rule under Title IX” on April 19, 2024, claiming it “prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activists receiving federal financial assistance” and “promote[s] education equity and opportunity for students across the country as well as accountability and fairness.”

But rather than “prohibiting discrimination,” the Final Rule permits, codifies and mandates discrimination against women by utterly redefining “biological sex.”

The DOE’s rewrite redefines “sex discrimination” to include discrimination on the basis of “sex stereotypes,” “sex characteristics,” “pregnancy,” “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

The new regulation means that any educational institution that receives federal funding (i.e. public schools, colleges, and some private schools) must permit men to access women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports – under threat from the full legal might of the federal government.

The new regulation is effective August 1, 2024.

Various lawsuits were filed against the rule change, leading to at least seven separate court injunctions stopping the rule from taking effect in 26 states.

Two of those decisions were appealed to separate federal appellate courts – the Fifth and Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Both courts left the injunctions in place.

The U.S. Department of Justice proceeded to appeal both rulings to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has now ruled against the DOE.

The Supreme Court issued the per curiam (by the court) opinion, unanimously ruling to maintain the injunctions against the rule’s change to the definition of “sex.”

The order states,

Importantly, all Members of the Court today accept that the plaintiffs were entitled to preliminary injunctive relief as to three provisions of the rule, including the central provision that newly defines sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

However, Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Kagan, Justice Gorsuch and Justice Jackson, dissented from the Court’s decision to leave the injunction against separate, but related, parts of the rule in place.

The Court’s order protects female sports and spaces in Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho.

Both cases that the Supreme Court adjudicated were brought by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

“The Biden-Harris administration’s radical redefinition of sex turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, undermines fairness, and threatens student safety and privacy,” said ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategy and Center for Conscience Initiatives Jonathan Scruggs.

The Supreme Court rightly affirmed the 5th and 6th Circuit decisions to restrain the administration’s illegal efforts to rewrite Title IX while these critical lawsuits continue.

Female athletes, students, and teachers across the country are right to stand against the administration’s adoption of extreme gender ideology, which would have devastating consequences for students, teachers, administrators, and families.

ADF points out that under the Final Rule, schools are “required to allow males who identify as female to enter girls’ private spaces like restrooms, locker rooms, and showers; to participate in girls’ physical education classes; and – despite logically inconsistent disclaimers saying otherwise – to play on girls’ sports teams.”

We should continue to hope, pray and work so that all states will soon be protected from the Final Rule. Not a single girl in any state should be put at risk because a government agency denies biological reality and undermines equal protection for girls and women.

The cases are U.S. Department of Education v. Louisiana, and Cardona v. State of Tennessee.

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Related articles and resources:

Third Court Halts DOE’s Title IX Rewrite, Girls’ Sports & Spaces Preserved

Second Federal Court Halts DOE’s Title IX Rewrite – Protecting Girls’ Sports & Spaces

Court Rules Against DOE’s Title IX Rewrite, Saving Women’s Sports & Spaces – For Now

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Gov. Sanders’ Powerful Speech Defending Girls’ Sports: ‘We Will Not Comply’

Title IX Redefinition of ‘Sex’ Faces Defiance and a Flood of Lawsuits

Florida and Oklahoma Reject Biden Admin’s Rule Letting Men into Women’s Bathrooms and Sports

New Biden Admin. Rule Lets Men into Women’s Locker Rooms, Bathrooms and Sports

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