FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) 鈥 The Biden administration's effort to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students hit another roadblock Monday, when a federal judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked the new Title IX rule in six additional states.
U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves referred to the regulation as 鈥渁rbitrary in the truest sense of the word鈥 in granting a preliminary injunction blocking it in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. His ruling comes days after a different federal judge the new rule from taking effect in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana.
Attorneys general in more than 20 Republican-led states have filed at least seven legal challenges to President Joe Biden's new policy. Republicans argue the policy to allow transgender girls to play on girls athletic teams. The Biden administration said the rule does not apply to athletics.
Still under consideration is a request for a preliminary injunction filed by the Republican attorneys general of Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Education Department has asked a judge to deny the request.
Set to take hold in August, the rule expands Title IX civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students, expands the definition of sexual harassment at schools and colleges, and adds safeguards for victims. Title IX, passed in 1972, is a law that bars sex discrimination in education.
The ruling Monday in Kentucky was applauded by the state鈥檚 Republican attorney general, Russell Coleman, who said the regulation would undermine equal opportunities for women.
鈥淭he judge鈥檚 order makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 attempt to redefine 鈥榮ex鈥 to include 鈥榞ender identity鈥 is unlawful and beyond the agency鈥檚 regulatory authority,鈥 Coleman said in a statement.
The Education Department said it would "continue to fight for every student鈥 as it reviews the ruling.
鈥淭itle IX guarantees that no person experience sex discrimination in a federally funded educational environment,鈥 the agency said in a statement. 鈥淭he department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process."
In his ruling, Reeves noted that Title IX was intended to 鈥渓evel the playing field鈥 between men and women in education but said the department was seeking to 鈥渄erail deeply rooted law鈥 with the new policy.
鈥淎t bottom, the department would turn Title IX on its head by redefining 鈥榮ex鈥 to include 鈥榞ender identity,鈥欌 he said. 鈥淏ut 鈥榮ex鈥 and 鈥榞ender identity鈥 do not mean the same thing. The department鈥檚 interpretation conflicts with the plain language of Title IX and therefore exceeds its authority to promulgate regulations under that statute.鈥
At a minimum, students of both sexes would 鈥渆xperience violations of their bodily privacy by students of a different sex鈥 if the rule took effect, the judge said.
The rule would mandate that schools 鈥減ermit biological men into women鈥檚 intimate spaces, and women into men鈥檚, within the educational environment based entirely on a person鈥檚 subjective gender identity,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his result is not only impossible to square with Title IX but with the broader guarantee of education protection for all students.鈥
The new rule also has 鈥渟erious First Amendment implications,鈥 the judge said.
鈥淭he rule includes a new definition of sexual harassment which may require educators to use pronouns consistent with a student鈥檚 purported gender identity rather than their biological sex,鈥 Reeves wrote. 鈥淏ased on the 鈥榩ervasive鈥 nature of pronoun usage in everyday life, educators likely would be required to use students鈥 preferred pronouns regardless of whether doing so conflicts with the educator鈥檚 religious or moral beliefs. A rule that compels speech and engages in such viewpoint discrimination is impermissible.鈥
The ruling by Reeves, who was appointed to the federal bench by Republican President George W. Bush, was the latest setback for the new protections, which were praised by civil rights advocates but drew backlash from opponents who say they undermine the spirit of Title IX.
The decision was blasted by the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group. Chris Hartman, its executive director, said the ruling 鈥渋gnores basic truths about the transgender community and further places in the crosshairs transgender kids, who are among our smallest and most vulnerable populations.鈥
David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation, a socially conservative, 鈥渇aith-based鈥 public policy organization in Kentucky, praised the judge for temporarily halting the Biden administration鈥檚 鈥渞adical redefinition of 鈥榮ex鈥 that would reverse opportunities that women and girls have enjoyed for 50 years under Title IX.鈥
Several GOP states have laws forbidding transgender girls from competing on girls sports teams. Those states argue that the new policy would open the door to allowing it. The Biden administration has proposed a separate rule that would , but said the newly finalized rule does not apply to athletics.
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Associated Press writer Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed to this report.
