Preliminary Injunction Blocking New Title IX Rule Will Remain in Place, Appeals Court Rules

Lawmakers listen as parents speak about the prospect of their children competing against transgender athletes in school sports at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on March 25, 2022. (Samuel Metz/AP Photo)

An order temporarily blocking the new Title IX rule in multiple states will not be lifted, a federal appeals court ruled on July 17.

The new rules, announced by the Department of Education in April, expand the decades-old Title IX law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools to now include sexual orientation and “gender identity.”

The latest ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means a preliminary injunction blocking the new rules, handed down last month by a federal district judge in Kentucky, will remain in place for now.

That order, issued by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, blocked the Department of Education (DOE) from enforcing the new Title IX rule in six states: Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In his ruling, Judge Reeves found the DOE exceeded its statutory authority in setting the new rules and acted in a way that was “arbitrary and capricious.”

Another federal judge, U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes, issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the rule earlier this month, noting that Title IX’s text and legislative history indicate that “sex” refers to biological sex.

In its majority ruling, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit said it agreed with the decision by the Kentucky court determining the new rule would unlawfully redefine sex discrimination under Title IX.

“As we see it, the district court likely concluded correctly that the Rule’s definition of sex discrimination exceeds the (U.S. Education) Department’s authority,” the judges wrote. “As many jurists have explained, Title VII’s definition of discrimination, together with the employment-specific defenses that come with it, do not neatly map onto other areas of discrimination.”

DOE Expands Title IX Law

Title IX is a decades-old policy to prevent discrimination based on sex in schools or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government.

On April 19, the DOE announced a final rule expanding the Title IX law to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

The final rule “protects all students and employees from all sex discrimination prohibited under Title IX, including by restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment,” the DOE said in April.

It also “protects against discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” according to the department.

The newly expanded protections have drawn widespread praise from civil rights advocates.

However, they have also raised concerns among conservatives who fear they grant female-identifying biologically male students access to girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms and allow them to play on girls’ athletic teams.

The new rules also put schools that refuse to comply at risk of losing essential federal funding and could leave them facing expensive lawsuits.

The federal government has said the rule does not apply to athletics.

As a result, Republican attorneys general from multiple states—including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, among others—have challenged the new rule, which was set to take effect on Aug. 1.

A rally in front of the White House to press the federal government to release the long-awaited final Title IX Rule, on Dec. 5, 2023. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)

States Sue Over Title IX Changes

It has also been blocked from moving ahead in 15 states: Alaska, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

In a post on the social media platform X after the appeal court’s ruling, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called it “another big win for Tennessee.”

“Court of Appeals confirms that the new Title IX rule, that would have allowed boys into girls’ locker rooms and private spaces, remains BLOCKED and will not go into effect this summer,” Mr. Skrmetti wrote.

In its ruling, the 6th Circuit also noted that critics of the new rule are concerned that rolling out “hundreds of pages of a new rule” on Aug. 1, just before the start of the school year, will “place an onerous burden” on states and result in increased confusion and costs.

“That is particularly problematic given that the new definition of sex discrimination affects each provision of the Rule that the Department asked to go into immediate effect,” the ruling stated.

The appeals court said the case will now be heard in October.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Education Department for comment.

Tom Ozimek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.