A federal judge struck down a sweeping Title IX expansion for gender-confused individuals and other sexual behavior, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves' decision Thursday negated the entire 1,500-page guideline he called "fatally" flawed.
President Joe Biden's administration was behind the push to confer Title IX protections on so-called LGBTQ+ students last year. The law was initially passed in 1972, and it was done to prevent sex discrimination in education.
The Democratic administration made it their business to expand the definitions of those covered, including protections for sexual orientation and gender identity instead of biological sex. Although the law didn't mention sports, many believed the language protected men who wanted to compete in women's sports and other problematic situations.
Because of this, the update faced many challenges from those concerned about its impact on the safety of girls and women. This lawsuit resolved this week was filed by the attorneys general of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennesee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Revees concluded in his decision that the Department of Education had no authority to make the changes through the 50-year-old law. The judge called it an "attempt to bypass the legislative process and completely transform Title IX."
One specific issue was that it violated free speech by compelling educators to use 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 in his decision.
Moreover, Reeves noted that the changes were outside the scope of the original law, Fox News reported. "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," the opinion said.
"As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head. While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes."
This decision comes after the Biden administration lost its appeal to the Supreme Court for an emergency request to protect the rule's safeguards for gender-confused students. It also comes just before President-elect Donald Trump, who railed against these exact problems, is set to take office.
Predictably, the reactions to the decision fell along ideological lines. "Protections for the most vulnerable students make the entire school safer and stronger for everyone," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, told the AP.
On the flip side, a statement from Kristen Waggoner, Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, president, and general Counsel, called the decision a "colossal win for women and girls" in America. "The Biden administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex not only tossed fairness, safety, and privacy for female students out the window, it also threatened free speech and parental rights," Waggoner said.
"With this ruling, the federal court in Kentucky rejected the entire Biden rule and the administration’s illegal actions. We are thankful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other state attorneys general who challenged this blatant overreach alongside our courageous clients," Waggoner added.
Skrmetti celebrated the decision on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. "Another massive win for TN and the country! This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin's radical new Title IX rule nationwide," he wrote.
Title IX was meant to protect women and girls from discrimination. The left sought to turn that intent on its head by adding protections for men who think they're females and others, but justice has prevailed.
