Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on April 29th, accusing them of expanding the scope of Title IX to include gender discrimination based on stereotypes, gender traits, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
The lawsuit alleges that the new regulation “distorts protection for women” by forcing schools to allow males who identify as female into female-only spaces such as restrooms and locker rooms, and permitting males to join female-exclusive organizations.
According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, this regulation violates existing federal laws, disregards the constitution, and deprives women of the protection they should be entitled to under Title IX. Paxton stated that the Biden administration has exceeded its authority and fundamentally altered the intent of Congress when enacting the law.
Public schools that refuse to comply with the regulation may risk losing federal funding. The amendments released on April 19th will apply to all public schools, including elementary, middle, high schools, and universities.
These changes will also overturn some regulations set by the Trump administration, including stricter requirements for proving sexual harassment cases.
Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos expressed on social media platform X, “This regulation is an attack on women and girls. It requires elementary schools under federal law to allow boys to use girls’ restrooms. It requires allowing men to participate in women’s sports, putting their safety, privacy, and competitive opportunities at risk. It makes the federal government decide how to enforce Title IX based on feelings rather than facts.”
Title IX is a landmark civil rights law enacted in 1972 aimed at preventing gender-based discrimination.
The expansion of this law will come into effect in August.
President Joe Biden is fulfilling his campaign promise to expand Title IX. The amendment was proposed in 2022 but was delayed due to a 30-day comment period, receiving a total of 240,000 responses.
Paxton believes the Biden administration has “distorted” the intent of Congress in enacting the law, forcing communities to comply with an “unscientific gender ideology” and putting women on school campuses in danger.
Paxton stated in a release, “Texas will not allow Joe Biden to arbitrarily rewrite Title IX, undermining legal protections for women to advance his extreme obsession with gender ideology. This attempt to subvert federal law is blatantly illegal, undemocratic, and detached from reality. Texas will always lead the fight against Biden’s extremism and destructive policies that put women at risk.”
America First Legal has joined Paxton in the lawsuit against the Biden administration’s attempt to “promote a radical transgender ideology.”
Stephen Miller, President of America First Legal, described Biden’s new Title IX regulations as “a vile, depraved act: it forces women and girls to share changing rooms and restrooms with men. This forces them to call ‘he’ a ‘she,’ pretending in various ways that a man is a woman, which is an insult, demeaning, and erasure of women.”
“As it is disgusting, as an external legal advisor to Texas, we will take all legal actions we can in court to fight this regulation. For the sake of American women and our daughters, it must be defeated.”
Supporters of the Title IX expansion applaud the Biden administration’s efforts, claiming it will make schools “safer and more convenient for young people.”
Emma Grasso Levine, Senior Manager of the “Know Your IX” organization, stated, “After years of pressure from students and survivors of sexual assault, the Biden administration’s expansion of Title IX will make schools safer and more accessible to young people, many of whom have suffered irreparable harm in their fight for protection and support.”
Supporters also believe the amendment retains certain protections for students accused of misconduct.
Typically, schools will be prohibited from disciplining accused students until they are determined responsible for misconduct, although “emergency” dismissals may be allowed if deemed a campus safety issue.
The American Council on Education (ACE), representing higher education institutions, also praised these changes.
ACE stated in a release, “We commend the department for providing institutions with some flexibility to determine how to assess charges and assess the credibility of all parties.”
“The elimination of the current requirement for on-site hearings and cross-examination of the students involved in sexual assault complaints is a good thing. In many cases, this requirement has turned these procedures into adversarial, court-like hearings, raising concerns about survivors experiencing trauma again and creating an undeniable chilling effect on their seeking help.”
However, the organization criticizes the compliance deadline of August 1st, stating it will pose challenges for “understaffed” institutions.
ACE said, “The implementation of this complex regulatory revision program’s ultimate deadline is one and a half years after the proposed rules submitted for comment, overlooking the inherent difficulties in implementing these changes on our nation’s campuses in such a short period.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also pledged to oppose the modifications to Title IX, accusing President Biden of abusing constitutional authority.