Additional GOP States Challenge Federal Title IX Rules for Transgender Students

Seven more Republican-led states have filed lawsuits on Tuesday to challenge a new federal regulation that aims to protect the rights of transgender students in schools across the nation. Republican plaintiffs argue that including protection for transgender students under the 1972 Title IX law is unconstitutional.

The lawsuits were filed in federal courts in Missouri and Oklahoma as part of ongoing GOP efforts to oppose the new regulation that clarifies Title IX, a law passed in 1972 to address sex discrimination and later extended to cover sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and colleges receiving federal funding.

The states of Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota have joined as plaintiffs in the Missouri lawsuit.

The lawsuits come as many Republicans seek to restrict the rights of transgender youth, including regulations on bathroom use and pronouns in schools. The GOP states argue that the new federal rules exceed the original intent of Title IX and question the authority of the Biden administration to enforce them.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin stated at a press conference with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, “The interpretation of the Biden administration is completely inconsistent with the statute and the way it’s been interpreted for decades.”

The federal regulation applies to all federally funded schools and has sparked opposition from at least 21 GOP states. Some states, like Arkansas, have openly declared they will not adhere to the regulation.

The U.S. Department of Education has refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigations.

Amelia Ford, a high school athlete from Arkansas, has also joined the Missouri case, expressing her belief that transgender women should not compete on women’s sports teams.

The Biden administration’s new rules protect against sex-based discrimination but do not specifically address transgender athletes, raising concerns in states with laws limiting participation based on gender identity.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Kentucky, with the hopes that one of the cases will pause the rule nationally.