A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the state of Texas does not have to follow guidance issued by the Biden administration that sought to punish schools for sexual discrimination under Title IX based on a student’s gender identity and sexual orientation. This ruling follows a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2023, challenging the enforcement of the policy in the state.
The Biden administration’s guidance, issued by the Department of Education in 2021, aimed to ensure that schools receiving federal funding could not discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The guidance stated that the Education Department would “fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs” for schools that receive federal funding.
This policy means that schools could face legal consequences if they require transgender-identifying students to use bathrooms or participate in sports based on their biological sex rather than their so-called gender identity.
Now, US District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Reed O’Connor, ruled that the Department of Education had exceeded its authority with this guidance.
“Nothing in the statute expressly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or other unexpressed grounds,” Judge O’Connor determined. “And where Title IX allows for differentiation based on sex due to biological differences — such as intimate facilities and athletic teams — recipients may treat persons in accordance with their biological sex without regard to subjective gender identity.”
O’Connor further argued that it was not logical for the Department of Education to include gender identity under the term sex in its guidance.
“Title IX explicitly appreciates the innate biological variation between men and women that occasionally warrants differentiation — and even separation — to preserve educational opportunities and to promote respect for both sexes,” he wrote.
The guidance in question was different from the revised Title IX guidelines issued in April that officially expanded the sexual discrimination law to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
Attorney General Paxton applauded the judge’s decision, saying that, “Threatening to withhold education funding by forcing states to accept ‘transgender’ policies that put women in danger was plainly illegal.”
Despite the ruling, the Department of Education released a statement standing by its guidelines. “Every student deserves the right to feel safe in school. The Department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, which were crafted following a rigorous process to give complete effect to the Title IX statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally funded education,” the department said in a statement to the Daily Caller.
