Appeals court refuses to lift order blocking rule meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to lift a judge’s order temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals kept in place 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 — though similar legal fights are taking place in Republican-led states across the country.

“As we see it, the district court likely concluded correctly that the Rule’s definition of sex discrimination exceeds the Department’s authority,” a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit said in its majority ruling.

The U.S. Education Department did not immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman hailed the latest ruling as “a victory for common sense.”

“For 50 years, Title IX has created equal opportunities for women and young girls in the classroom and on the field,” said Coleman, a Republican. “Today, the 6th Circuit becomes the first appellate court in the nation to stop 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 endanger transgender children.

“We believe Kentucky schools have an obligation to protect all students, including transgender students, and that they should implement the new Title IX Rule regardless of the 6th Circuit’s opinion,” Hartman said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Most Republican state attorneys general have gone to court to challenge the Biden administration’s Title IX regulation that expands protections to LGBTQ+ students.

The regulation kicks in on Aug. 1, but judges have temporarily blocked enforcement while the legal cases move ahead in 15 states: Alaska, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The regulation faces legal challenges from 12 other states where enforcement has not been paused: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and South Carolina.

Republicans argue the policy is a ruse to allow transgender girls to play on girls athletic teams. The Biden administration said the rule does not apply to athletics.

In its ruling, the 6th Circuit panel also expedited a full hearing of the case for this fall.