A federal judge issued a ruling Friday that temporarily stops the U.S. Department of Education from enforcing in 20 states its policy that Title IX protects gay and transgender students from discrimination.
The Ed Deptartment interpreted that Title IX — the law banning sex-based discrimination in federally funded schools — allowed transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their gender identity.
Predominantly conservative states, led by Tennessee, sued the Ed Department last year, arguing guidance the agency issued in June 2021 ran afoul of federal law and regulatory processes and clashed with some of their state laws. Last month, the states again asked a federal court to halt the Ed Department’s enforcement of the guidance, saying this was needed to protect their citizens from “continued federal threats.”
U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley Jr., an appointee of former President Donald Trump, late Friday granted their request temporarily. Under the decision, the Ed Department’s Title IX policy can’t be enforced in the states until the lawsuit is resolved.
The states’ “sovereign power to enforce their own legal code is hampered by the issuance of Defendants’ guidance and they face substantial pressure to change their state laws as a result,” Atchley wrote in his decision.
He gave the example of Tennessee, which has a law requiring public middle and high school students to participate in athletics based on their sex assigned at birth. But the Ed...
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