HomeTop StoriesThe court's decision overturns Biden's changes to Title IX

The court’s decision overturns Biden’s changes to Title IX

The Biden administration’s controversial attempt to redefine the definition of sexual discrimination in Title IX by adding gender identity and sexual orientation was rejected Thursday by a federal court in Kentucky.

Since the regulatory changes were implemented in April 2024, they have received criticism from Congress and through the courts. Several states, including Utah, have filed a lawsuit to prevent President Joe Biden’s changes from being implemented in schools.

The Biden-Harris administration’s changes to Title IX expanded protections for transgender students from discrimination, but critics worried it would limit women’s sports and women-only spaces. Last August, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision against the administration’s request to immediately implement certain portions of the amended Title IX.

But on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves ruled in Cardona v. Tennessee, rejecting Biden’s Title IX changes nationwide. The decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia.

Enacted in 1972 as part of a civil rights law, Title IX was intended to promote educational equality and guarantee opportunity regardless of gender and protect individuals from discrimination.

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“As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head,” Reeves’ ruling said.

“While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, there are many exceptions that allow for the separation of men and women based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes.”

Reeves also wrote in his ruling that the Department of Education abused its authority by “bypassing the legislative process and completely transforming Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 through sweeping new regulations.” He also said the changes overstep teachers’ free speech rights by requiring them to use students’ preferred pronouns in the classroom.

“Plaintiffs reasonably fear that teachers’ (and others’) statements about gender issues or their inability to use gender identity-based pronouns would constitute harassment within the meaning of the Final Rule,” Reeves wrote. “Simply put, the First Amendment does not permit the government to chill speech or coerce confirmation of a belief with which the speaker disagrees in this way.”

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Reactions to the Title IX ruling

The Ministry of Education did not immediately respond to the decision, according to The New York Times.

Maha Ibrahim, a senior attorney at Equal Rights Advocates, told the Times: “This opinion is an example of the revisionist history, in writing, coming out of one of our federal courts.”

The verdict has provoked positive reactions from many Republican politicians and activists:

Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and an early critic of the Biden-Harris Title IX changes, responded to the ruling on Thursday, sharing his thoughts on comeback in 2025.”

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti posted on social media that his state “successfully defended” both Title IX and the country, calling the Biden administration’s changes a “radical and unlawful rewrite!”

“The court’s ruling is yet another rejection of the Biden administration’s relentless drive to impose a radical gender ideology through unconstitutional and illegal regulations,” his post said.

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All-American swimmer turned activist Riley Gaines, who competed against transgender athlete Lia Thomas when she was a senior at the University of Kentucky, is one of the most outspoken critics of allowing transgender athletes in women’s sports. Gaines and more than a dozen other athletes filed a lawsuit against the NCAA last March, accusing the organization of violating Title IX.

After the ruling, Gaines posted on X: “Big win for girls and women everywhere!!! This morning, a federal court ruled in favor of reality. Biden’s Title IX rewrite has been cleared nationwide. Sanity is slowly returning,” adding that her lawsuit against the NCAA is still “full steam ahead.”

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