A federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman’s preliminary injunction request to block the Biden Administration’s new Title IX rule from taking effect on Monday.
In April, Skrmetti, Coleman, and four other state attorneys general sued the Biden administration’s DOE over its finalized rule to rewrite Title IX to encompass gender identity and sexual orientation.
Skrmetti and Coleman filed the preliminary injunction request for the court to block the DOE rule from taking effect last week.
Another big Tennessee WIN 🚨
New Title IX rule will not be going into effect in Tennessee on August 1 after federal court grants @AGTennessee's injunction.
More to come soon! pic.twitter.com/JQFmHJ275a
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) June 17, 2024
Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves’ ruling on Monday reads:
The United States Department of Education and Miguel Cardona, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, along with their secretaries, directors, administrators, and employees, are ENJOINED and RESTRAINED from implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action in any manner to enforce the Final Rule, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, 89 Fed. Reg. 33474 (Apr. 29, 2024), which is scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2024.
Judge Reeves’ order extends to the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Title IX currently states:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
The DOE’s finalized rule would rewrite Title IX to abolish sex-based distinctions in educational activities and programs in order to accommodate transgender individuals, essentially requiring K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to allow males identifying as females access to women’s sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms.
In addition, any school that fails to comply with the new rule would be at risk of losing federal education funding.
The DOE rule was scheduled to take effect on August 1 prior to Judge Reeves’ ruling on Monday.
“As a parent and as Attorney General, I joined this effort to protect our women and girls from harm. Today’s ruling recognized the 50-plus years of educational opportunities Title IX has created for students and athletes,” Attorney General Coleman said in a statement. “We’re grateful for the court’s ruling, and we will continue to fight the Biden Administration’s attempts to rip away protections to advance its political agenda.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti” by A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti.
