Late Thursday afternoon we were given the news of a fantastic victory in the fight against the Biden Administration’s attacks on Title IX and the decades of progress made for women in our educational system. A federal judge in the Western District of Louisiana just granted Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, and Mississippi a preliminary injunction which prevents the Department of Education’s unconstitutional rules from taking effect in these states.
The Administration’s new rules, which go into effect on August 1st, rewrite the definition of discrimination on the basis of sex to now include “gender identity.” This means that schools nationwide would be required to allow biological males to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms. The rules mandate the use of “preferred pronouns” and allowed for males to compete in women’s sports. It undoes decades of progress and protections for women and girls throughout our education system.
This preliminary injunction was the very first in the nation against the Administration’s new Title IX rules, but unfortunately only applies to the four states that filed the suit. Forty-six other states are still exposed and vulnerable to this rule that risks the safety and opportunities for girls and women in our schools, kindergarten through college. Schools that refused to comply with the new rules could be denied Title IX funds and likely subjected to lawsuits. But for now, Idaho will be protected.
The injunction itself was granted because the judge felt we as the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of the case, and that the rules violate Title IX, the First Amendment, and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
For too long, we have watched the Biden Administration and their bureaucratic acolytes twist rules, overstep their authority, and attack the sovereignty of states to force a radical social agenda. With these new rules, the Administration is literally putting our children in harm’s way with zero regard for the hard-fought progress made to secure opportunities for girls to succeed in the classroom and compete on the sports field. Every little girl whose parents enthusiastically cheer her on from the sidelines has become a disposable pawn in an agenda to remake our culture into something unrecognizable.
I’m proud to lead this fight and this is an important victory. But it can’t be the last one. There is still much work to be done as we battle for our kids’ opportunities and to protect what critical progress has already been made.
