4 GOP-led states sue administration over Title IX rules for transgender students

Four more Republican-led states sued the Biden administration on Tuesday over new Title IX rules that strengthen protections for LGBTQ students.

The Education Department in April unveiled a final set of sweeping changes to Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prevents sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive government funding. The new regulations, set to take effect Aug. 1, cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time, angering some Republicans.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal district court in Topeka, Kansas, the attorneys general of Kansas, Utah, Wyoming and Alaska accused the Department of Education and the Department of Justice of trying to “politicize our nation’s education system.” , extending the law’s protections to transgender students.

New Title IX rules could prevent schools from prohibiting transgender students from using bathrooms, locker rooms and pronouns that match their gender identity, a senior administration official said last month.

“Biden’s Department of Education does not have the authority to do what it is trying to do,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), who is leading the lawsuit, at a news conference at the state capitol in Topeka.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “Biden’s Title IX rule is unfair.”

Kobach added that the administration’s Title IX overhaul, which also strengthens anti-discrimination protections for pregnant students and changes how schools handle sexual harassment and assault complaints, conflicts with a 2023 Kansas law that prohibits transgender women and girls from competing on girls’ school sports teams, although the Biden administration has not yet finalized a separate rule governing eligibility for athletics.

The proposal introduced last year by the Department of Education would prevent schools from adopting policies that categorically exclude transgender student-athletes from sports teams that match their gender identity, although high schools and colleges could still limit participation on a case-by-case basis. base.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas, responding to Tuesday’s lawsuit, said Kobach “either misunderstands the intent and impact of Title IX protections, or purposely misinterprets them.”

Kansas, Utah, Wyoming and Alaska are joined in the lawsuit by two conservative political organizations – Moms for Liberty and Young America’s Foundation – which are represented by the Southeastern Legal Foundation and the Mountain States Legal Foundation.

Republican governors, attorneys general and education officials across the country have vowed to reject the administration’s Title IX rules for transgender students, which schools are required to follow as a condition of receiving federal funding. Former President Trump said last week that he would issue an executive order rolling back the new regulations “on day one” of his presidency if he is reelected in November.

Lawsuits filed by more than a dozen GOP-led states this month say the administration’s update undermines existing anti-discrimination protections for students who are not transgender and incorrectly applies the reasoning of a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that protects employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity to Title IX.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story