Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is moving forward to block new federal rules for schools under Title IX.
Under changes put forth by President Joe Biden last month, the decades-old rule now expands the definition of someone's sex to include the gender they identify with.
Title IX is a civil rights law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools or education programs that receive federal funding. Among the Title IX changes announced in April are new rules to clarify that Title IX also forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek recourse from the federal government.
Texas' Republican attorney general is asking the court to immediately stop the rules from taking effect while his lawsuit against the Biden Administration plays out in court.
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Paxton, along with several other attorneys general in Republican-led states, sued the Department of Education in April arguing the changes to Title IX removed protections for women attending schools including allowing men in women's restrooms and locker rooms, allowing men to play on women's sports teams and would require schools to punish those who refer to people by biological pronouns.
Despite the attorney general's claim, Biden's policy did not mention transgender athletes. The administration originally planned to include a new policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes, but that provision was put on hold.
Paxton's amended complaint, "highlights the history of Title IX, demonstrating that the law’s 'prohibition on sex-based discrimination was understood to mean biological sex, not gender identity.'"
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also opposed the changes to Title IX and sent letters to the Texas Education Agency and the state's public universities telling administrators to ignore the president's changes.
