A federal judge on Thursday struck down the Biden administration’s redefinition of sex as “gender identity” in Title IX, a policy that critics say harms women and girl athletes.
“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,” U.S. district judge Danny Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky wrote. The Department of Education’s decision to expand “the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity,'” Reeves ruled, is not only an overstepping of authority but also “turns Title IX on its head.”
The decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia, the Associated Press reported. Attorneys general in more than 20 Republican-led states have filed legal challenges to the rules, which took effect last August, arguing that the expansion of Title IX is aimed at allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.
“The court’s order is [a] resounding victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns,” Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti (R.) said.
The rules violated freedom of speech, according to the judge, by mandating that teachers use students’ preferred pronouns. “The First Amendment does not permit the government to chill speech or compel affirmance of a belief with which the speaker disagrees in this manner,” Reeves wrote.
President-elect Donald Trump made transgender issues a component of his campaign last year, vowing to reverse the expansion of Title IX “on day one.”
According to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), who issued a statement on the ruling, the Biden administration has “betrayed the original intent of Title IX by removing longstanding protections that ensured fairness for women and girls.”
“Good to see this harmful regulation overturned,” Cassidy continued. “With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom.”
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