Federal judge in Texas expands ruling that blocks Biden administration

[Lori Dee]

Federal judge in Texas expands ruling that blocks Biden administration protections of LGBTQ students
The decision in the case brought by the Texas Attorney General preempts any future Title IX regulations that extend federal protections to LGBTQ students.
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The Texas Tribune - KAYLA GUO
AUG. 14, 2024

A Texas federal judge this month ruled that the Biden administration had acted unlawfully in interpreting Title IX to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ students. The ruling preempts any future action by the Education Department to prohibit discrimination in educational settings on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Judge Reed O'Connor's Aug. 5 decision broadened an earlier ruling in June that struck down specific Biden administration rules intended to expand protections to LGBTQ students.

O'Connor ... said the Biden administration overstepped its authority and that any new guidelines that expanded anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ students would be illegal.

In 2021, the Biden administration said that Title IX protects LGBTQ students after the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that Title VII ... applies to gay and transgender workers as well.

The Texas Attorney General's office sued the federal government in 2023 for its interpretation of Title IX, arguing that noncompliance with the Biden administration's rules put Texas schools at risk of losing federal funding.

The Aug. 5 decision came after Texas asked the federal court to clarify the scope of its June ruling and to preclude any implementation of Title IX that extended protections to LGBTQ students.

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