Republican States Fight Back Against Biden's Gender Identity Policy—You Won't Believe Their Argument!

Five Republican-led states have filed lawsuits challenging new Biden administration regulations that prohibit schools and colleges receiving federal funding from discriminating against students based on their gender identity.

The lawsuits, filed by state attorneys general in federal courts in Louisiana and Texas, target a U.S. Department of Education rule issued earlier this month. This rule clarified that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools and colleges, also covers discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Title IX applies to both public and private schools that receive federal funding.

The lawsuits argue that the Department of Education's interpretation of Title IX conflicts with the statute's text, which has defined "sex" as a person's biological sex since its enactment. The states contend that unless the rule is vacated, schools would be required to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms according to their gender identities and would be prohibited from differentiating between biological males and females in athletic and educational opportunities.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in his lawsuit filed in federal court in Amarillo, argued that the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which extended protection against sex discrimination to gay and transgender workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, does not apply to other federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination. The case in Texas is before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump known for his conservative views.

The lawsuits by the other four states—Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho—have been assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee in Monroe, Louisiana, who has frequently ruled against President Joe Biden's agenda.