A Biden administration expansion of anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students is now blocked in Alaska, along with 13 other states and various other U.S. locations, following a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday affecting four of those states that is the third such order in less than three weeks.<\/p>\n
The challenges are to a Title IX rule change by the U.S. Department of Education expanding the law’s definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. U.S. District Judge John Broomes, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued a 47-page ruling<\/a> stating Title IX’s definition of “sex” refers to the “traditional concept of biological sex in which there are only two sexes, male and female.”<\/p>\n “Defendants do not dispute that at the time Title IX was enacted in 1972, the term ‘sex’ was understood to mean the biological distinctions between males and females and conceded as such during the hearing,” he wrote. Furthermore, “the legislative history also supports a finding that the term ‘sex’ referred to biological sex. As discussed, one of the principal purposes of the statute was to root out discrimination against women in education. The legislative history shows that Congress was concerned about the unequal treatment between men and women for admissions opportunities, scholarships, and sports.”<\/p>\n The Education Department is reviewing the order and “stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024,” according to a prepared statement issued by the department.<\/p>\n The department’s revised policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and nullifies Trump-era changes allowing schools to use stricter evidentiary standards for sexual assault, harassment and sex discrimination claims.<\/p>\n