Nine Republican-led states, along with several conservative groups, have filed lawsuits challenging the new regulations implemented by the Biden administration. These regulations aim to prevent schools and colleges that receive federal funding from engaging in any form of discrimination against students based on their gender identity.
Several states and advocacy groups have filed lawsuits in federal courts in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. These lawsuits challenge the new U.S. Department of Education regulations that aim to extend sex discrimination protections in federal civil rights law to LGBTQ students.
The Department clarified that the regulations issued on April 19 make it clear that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools and colleges, also encompasses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In a 2020 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court established that a prohibition on sex discrimination in the workplace, as stated in Title VII, also extends to protect gay and transgender employees.
When courts analyze Title IX, they often refer to interpretations of Title VII. This is because both laws prohibit discrimination based on sex.
The regulations also bring about changes in how schools that fall under the purview of Title IX handle reports of sex-based discrimination and harassment. Title IX applies to both public and private schools, the majority of which receive federal funding in some capacity.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Monday, stating that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County only applies to Title VII and does not extend to other federal laws that prohibit sex discrimination.
The lawsuit, alongside a separate one lodged by Republican state attorneys general in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho, claimed that the regulations are unlawfully interpreting Title IX, conflicting with the statute’s text. They argue that “sex” is defined as a person’s biological sex, according to the statute.
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and three advocacy groups filed a third lawsuit. They contested the provision that broadens the definition of sex-based harassment and requires schools to revamp their complaint handling process.
The lawsuit argues that the expanded ban on harassment would compel students to use an individual’s preferred pronouns under the threat of investigation for misgendering someone.
The states argue that if the regulations are not vacated, schools will have to permit transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities.
According to a statement from a spokesperson for the Education Department, the rule was created with the intention of fully implementing the Title IX statutory guarantee, which ensures that no individual faces sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding.
Paxton brought his lawsuit to federal court in Amarillo, where U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump and former Christian legal activist known for ruling against LGBTQ rights, is the sole active judge.
In 2022, Kacsmaryk made headlines when he suspended the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Additionally, in a separate case, he determined that the Supreme Court’s Bostock ruling did not impact the “ordinary public meaning” of Title IX.
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