On Thursday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that temporarily blocks the Biden-Harris administration’s revised interpretation of Title IX from taking effect in four states: South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, pending further appeal. The administration’s new rules interpret Title IX, a key provision of the Civil Rights Act, to equate gender identity with biological sex, drawing on the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock.
In its order, the court stated, “Ultimately, the Department’s regulation contravenes the Supreme Court’s construction of Title IX ‘discrimination’ set out in Davis and runs headlong into the First Amendment concerns animating decisions like Davis and Cartwright. Accordingly, it is highly likely that the Department’s regulation is contrary to law and ‘in excess of statutory … authority.’”
The court ruled in favor of the states by a 2-1 margin. The decision emphasized, “It is certainly highly likely that the Department’s new regulation defining discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ is contrary to law and ‘in excess of statutory authority.’”
The legal challenge against the Department of Education’s revised Title IX rules was brought by the four states, along with advocacy groups including the Independent Women’s Law Center, Parents Defending Education, and Speech First.
Nicole Neily, President of Parents Defending Education, expressed her gratitude for the court’s decision, stating, “We are deeply grateful that the 11th Circuit issued an injunction in our Title IX case, and we look forward to engaging with the district court on the merits in the months ahead.
The Biden-Harris rewrite of this 52-year-old law flagrantly disregards both constitutional rights and the Administrative Procedure Act, a point on which multiple appellate courts now concur. It’s an honor to stand alongside Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in the battle to defend the privacy and safety of America’s women and girls, although tragic that such litigation had to be filed in the first place.”
Caroline Moore, Vice President of Parents Defending Education, also welcomed the ruling, saying, “We are thrilled that the court agreed to temporarily stop the Biden administration’s changes to Title IX. This administration has consistently challenged female biology and cannot conclusively state what differentiates female and male biology. Today is a good day for students and school districts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Parents and students alike can sleep well knowing their kids won’t be subjected to threats of lawlessness, harm, and injury in their academic institutions.”
This ruling follows a 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court that similarly blocked the Biden-Harris administration’s attempts to enforce their Title IX changes. The administration’s proposed revisions, which were scheduled to take effect on August 1, would have required schools receiving federal funding to allow biological males to access girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities.