FRANKFORT, Kentucky — A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to lift a judge’s order temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule aimed at expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students.
The ruling by the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals held a preliminary injunction issued last month by a federal district judge in Kentucky. That order blocked the new rule in six states — Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — even as similar legal battles are taking place in Republican-led states across the country.
“In our view, the court was likely correct to conclude that the definition of sex discrimination generally exceeds the Department’s authority,” a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit said in its majority decision.
The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman called the latest ruling “a victory for common sense.”
“Title IX has created equal opportunities for women and girls in the classroom and on the field for 50 years,” said Coleman, a Republican. “Today, the 6th Circuit is the first appeals court in the nation to halt President Biden’s blatant assault on these fundamental protections.”
Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group, warned that the ruling would pose a danger to transgender children.
“We believe that Kentucky schools have a duty to protect all students, including transgender students, and that they must implement the new Title IX rule regardless of the 6th Circuit’s opinion,” Hartman said in a statement Wednesday night.
Most Republican attorneys general have gone to court to challenge the Biden administration’s Title IX regulation, which extends protections to LGBTQ+ students.
The rules take effect Aug. 1, but judges have temporarily blocked their enforcement until lawsuits proceed in 15 states: Alaska, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The regulations face legal challenges from 12 other states where enforcement has not been suspended: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and South Carolina.
Republicans argue the policy is a ploy to allow transgender girls to play on girls’ sports teams. The Biden administration has said the rule does not apply to athletics.
In its ruling, the 6th Circuit panel also decided to expedite the full hearing of the case so that it can take place this fall.