Alliance Defending Freedom Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Biden’s Title IX Changes

Alliance Defending Freedom is celebrating an early win for women’s rights. A federal district court in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday halting the Biden administration’s reinterpretation of Title IX, while a lawsuit challenging the changes continues to make its way through the courts.

The ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted the preliminary injunction to the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho, which had filed a consolidated lawsuit opposing the new Title IX rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Education.

What is Alliance Defending Freedom?

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family and the sanctity of life.

Alliance Defending Freedom’s Church & Ministry Alliance, a specialized division of Alliance Defending Freedom, concentrates on protecting the legal rights of religious entities. This branch, focused specifically on ministries, provides legal counsel and representation to churches and faith-based groups. It aims to enable these religious institutions to freely exercise their beliefs without facing unwarranted obstruction or limitations from outside forces.

In Rapides Parish School Board v. United States Department of Education, Alliance Defending Freedom and several states are challenging the Biden administration’s controversial Final Rule, issued in April, that rewrites how Title IX applies to sexual discrimination in education.

The 423-page Final Rule from the U.S. Department of Education contains sweeping changes that would significantly impact every public school and college receiving federal funding.

Key provisions include adding a new regulation that redefines prohibited “sex discrimination” under Title IX to encompass discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, sex stereotypes, and sex characteristics – going beyond just protecting against discrimination based on biological sex. The rule declares this interpretation preempts any conflicting state laws.

The Final Rule also permits schools to allow students to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities matching their stated gender identity without being required to request any medical documentation. Schools must also use whatever pronouns students request based on their gender identity.

The rule establishes new grievance procedures that could classify speech judged to create a “hostile environment” for a student’s gender identity as potential harassment – even if the speech occurred off campus.

Additionally, the Final Rule mandates schools designate and pay for a Title IX coordinator, train staff on the new policies, and hire investigators to handle any complaints of gender identity discrimination.

In its ruling, the court said the Biden administration’s Final Rule’s new harassment standard “chills and punishes protected speech” and allows one’s “political ideology to dominate” by labeling opposing views as harassment—which the court views as an illegal overreach and First Amendment violation.

“Enacting the changes in the Final Rule would subvert the original purpose of Title IX: protecting biological females from discrimination,” the court wrote.

The court went on to declare that “Congress did not give ‘clear statutory authorization’ to enact the Final Rule” dramatically expanding Title IX’s definition of sex discrimination.

In a statement on Alliance Defending Freedom, Natalie Thompson, Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, applauded the decision, stating: “The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, undermines fairness, and threatens student safety and privacy. The court was right to halt the administration’s illegal efforts to rewrite Title IX while this critical lawsuit continues. As the court wrote in its opinion, ‘The abuse of power by administrative agencies is a threat to democracy.’ The administration continues to ignore biological reality, science, and common sense. The Rapides Parish School Board and schools and teachers across the country are right to stand against the administration’s adoption of extreme gender ideology, which would have devastating consequences for students, teachers, administrators, and families.”

“Enacting the changes in the Final Rule would subvert the original purpose of Title IX: protecting biological females from discrimination,” Thompson said.

While this ruling temporarily stops the controversial Title IX rewrite, the underlying legal battle is expected to continue, with the potential to reach the Supreme Court.