A federal judge in Kansas has blocked President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in four Republican-led states, saying it lacked authority to adopt such a regulation.
Tuesday's decision by U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Topeka followed rulings by two other judges blocking the U.S. Department of Education from implementing its new rule that interprets Title IX's bar against discrimination "on the basis of sex" as covering gender identity in 10 other states.
His ruling came in a lawsuit by Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming, who sued alongside three conservative activist groups including Moms for Liberty and a Christian student who objects to biological girls sharing bathrooms with transgender students or being forced to use the preferred pronouns of LGBTQ students.
A total of 26 Republican-led states have sued over the rule, which is set to take effect Aug. 1. Lawsuits by 12 other states challenging the rule remain pending and have yet to be ruled on.
The Education Department when it adopted the rule said it clarified that the prohibition against sex-based discrimination in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 also includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Education Department cited a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that a ban against sex discrimination in the workplace contained in a different law, Title VII, covered gay and transgender workers.
Courts often rely on interpretations of Title VII when analyzing Title IX, as both laws bar discrimination on the basis of sex.
But Broomes, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, said that was a different law and that with Title IX, "it is clear from the statutory language that the term 'sex' refers to the traditional binary concept of biological sex."
He said the term "sex" was unambiguous, but even if it were not, the Education Department's view was no longer entitled to deference from the courts after the 6-3 conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overruled the 1984 decision that had given so-called Chevron deference to government agencies in interpreting laws they administer.
Broomes also invoked the so-called "major questions" doctrine favored by conservatives, which gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive branch actions unless Congress clearly authorized them.
He concluded the rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act. But Broomes declined to issue a nationwide injunction as the plaintiffs wanted, saying he would "abide by the traditional approach" and limit the scope of the injunction to the parties.
The injunction he issued prevents enforcement of the rule in Kansas, Alaska, Utah and Wyoming as well as schools attended by children affiliated with the groups Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United and Moms for Liberty.
"We're pleased the court ruled to rein in the administration's vast overreach," Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican, said in a statement.
The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment, but has previously defended the law as being crafted "to realize the Title IX statutory guarantee."
The case is State of Kansas v. United States Department of Education, No. 5:24-cv-04041.
For Kansas: Abhishek Kambli of the Kansas Attorney General's Office
For the private plaintiffs: Tyson Langhofer of Alliance Defending Freedom; William E. Trachman of Mountain States Legal Foundation; and Kimberly Hermann of Southeastern Legal Foundation
For the Education Department: Rebecca Kopplin of the U.S. Department of Justice
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