Judge Reverses Biden Administration’s Title IX Changes, Safeguarding Women’s Spaces and Sports – One America News Network
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
4:02 PM – Thursday, January 9, 2025
Following an attempt by the Biden administration to redefine sex in Title IX as “gender identity,” a federal judge in Kentucky overturned the changes on a national level.
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The ruling in the case of Cardona v. Tennessee was delivered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Northern Division.
U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves ruled against the 1,500-page regulation, deeming it “fatally” flawed and invalidated it.
“Another huge victory for TN and the nation!” tweeted Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor, nullifying the Biden administration’s extreme new Title IX rule across the country.
“The court’s decision is a significant win for safeguarding girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, as well as for the right to use biologically-accurate language.”
Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also commented on the ruling.
“It is apparent that the Biden-Harris administration has completely strayed from the original purpose of Title IX. They undermined decades of established protections for women and girls. It’s encouraging to see this damaging regulation rescinded,” stated Cassidy. “With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will fight to ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities to succeed in athletics and academics.”
The ruling came after the Supreme Court denied the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce parts of a new regulation intended to grant Title IX “rights” to transgender-identifying students. This regulation would have allowed any biological male to access female facilities such as locker rooms, open showers, and restrooms, as well as permitting them to participate in women’s sports teams.
The comprehensive rule, unveiled in April, explicitly stated that “discrimination” based on an individual’s preferred “gender identity” or sexual orientation falls under Title IX’s prohibitions against “sex” discrimination in educational environments.
For the first time, the law indicated that actions linked to a person’s gender identification equate to sex discrimination, with the rule taking effect on August 1st.
Shortly thereafter, over two dozen attorneys general lodged a lawsuit against the rule, asserting it contravened state laws that ban transgender-identifying biological males from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.
“A holistic view of Title IX makes it clear that discrimination based on sex means discrimination based on being male or female,” the court stated in its opinion. “As explained by this Court and others, widening the definition of ‘on the basis of sex’ to incorporate ‘gender identity’ completely distorts Title IX.”
The recent ruling is heralded as a “monumental triumph for women and girls” across the U.S., according to a statement from Alliance Defending Freedom’s president and CEO, Kristen Waggoner.
“The Biden administration’s extreme attempt to redefine sex disregarded fairness, safety, and privacy for female students, and also jeopardized free speech and parental rights,” she remarked. “With this decision, the federal court in Kentucky dismissed the complete Biden rule and its unlawful actions. We are grateful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other attorneys general who stood against this blatant overreach alongside our brave clients.
“This ruling brings significant relief to students nationwide, including our client, who has faced harassment from a male student in her locker room and on her sports team. The U.S. Supreme Court can further safeguard girls like our client by considering cases from the ACLU against West Virginia and Idaho laws that protect women’s sports.”
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