Six Republican states are challenging the Biden administration’s newly expanded campus sexual assault rules, claiming they overstep the president’s authority and undermine the Title IX anti-discrimination law. Led by Tennessee and West Virginia, the federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday asks a judge to halt and overturn the new policy, which is joined by Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia. These legal challenges follow similar actions by nine other states, including Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. The new rules, finalized in April and set to take effect in August, expand protections to LGBTQ+ students and add safeguards for victims of sexual assault.
Central to the dispute is a provision in the new rules that expands Title IX to include protections for LGBTQ+ students, a move that the states involved argue amounts to an illegal rewrite of the landmark legislation. They claim that this new provision could clash with their own laws, particularly those related to transgender students’ access to bathrooms and locker rooms according to their gender identity. The argument is that the Department of Education has no authority to allow boys into girls’ locker rooms, as Title IX has historically been understood to protect the privacy and safety of women in such spaces. The new rules, however, broaden protection against discrimination based on sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
The administration’s new rules aimed to offer broad protection against sex-based discrimination, but they do not provide specific guidance on transgender athletes, which has raised concerns among the Republican states. While the Education Department has promised a separate rule on this issue later, the states fear that the latest update could potentially allow men who identify as women to compete in programs and activities that were intended for women, thus turning Title IX’s protections on their head. Additionally, the new suit challenges the Education Department’s justification for the rules, citing a 2020 Supreme Court case protecting gay, lesbian, and transgender people from discrimination in employment, but arguing that the Court did not address scenarios related to Title IX.
One major point of contention in the lawsuits filed by the Republican states is the policy changes dictating how schools and colleges must handle complaints of sexual assault. These rules were proposed nearly two years ago, with a record number of responses during the public comment period. The policy rolls back many of the changes implemented during the Trump administration, which had added more protections for students accused of sexual misconduct. The Republican states involved in the legal challenge argue that the administration’s new rules could potentially impact athletic programs and create conflicts with existing state laws regarding transgender students’ access to facilities based on their gender identity.
The Education Department’s new rules face significant opposition from the Republican states, with concerns about the potential impact on transgender students’ participation in sports and other programs intended for women. The legal challenge led by Tennessee and West Virginia, joined by several other states, seeks to halt and overturn the new policy, arguing that it goes beyond the president’s authority and could undermine existing protections for women in educational settings. The lawsuit raises questions about the interpretation of Title IX in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation, highlighting the ongoing debate over the balance between protecting against discrimination and ensuring fairness and safety in educational environments.
