Enforcement of a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students has been blocked in four states by a federal judge in Kansas.
U.S. District Judge John Broomes suggested in his ruling Tuesday that the Biden administration must now determine whether forcing compliance is worth it.
Broomes’s ruling was the third one against the rule by a federal judge in less than three weeks. Except this time it’s more sweeping than the others. It applies to Alaska, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, states that have filed lawsuits against the new rule. It also applies to a college in Stillwater, Oklahoma, that a student sued, and to members of three groups that support nationwide Republican efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. All are involved in this one lawsuit.
Mr. Broomes, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ordered the three groups opposing the rule — Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United — to file a list of schools where their members’ children attend so that their schools would also not comply with the rule. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican who argued the states’ case before Broomes last month, said that could affect thousands of schools.
“Gender ideology has no place in public schools”
The Biden administration’s rule is set to take effect in August under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, passed in 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. Judge Broomes’ order is to remain in effect until a trial in Kansas, which the states and the three groups are likely to win, the judge said.
Republicans have argued that the rule represents a ruse by the Biden administration to allow transgender women to play on women’s sports teams, which is banned or restricted in Kansas and at least 24 other states. The administration has said it does not apply to athletics. Opponents of the rule have also framed the issue as protecting the privacy and safety of women and girls in restrooms and locker rooms.
“Gender ideology has no place in public schools and we are pleased that the courts have made the right decision in favor of parental rights,” Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice wrote in a statement.
LGBTQ+ youth, their parents, health care providers and others say the restrictions on transgender youth are harming their mental health and making an often marginalized group even more vulnerable. The Education Department has previously upheld its rule, and President Joe Biden has vowed to protect LGBTQ+ rights.
The Education Ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
Rule deemed arbitrary
In addition to Broomes, two other federal judges issued rulings in mid-June blocking the new rule in 10 other states. The rule would protect LGBTQ+ students by expanding the definition of sexual harassment in schools and colleges and adding safeguards for victims.
Like the other justices, Broomes called the rule arbitrary and concluded that the Education Department and its secretary, Miguel Cardona, had exceeded the authority granted by Title IX. He also found that the rule violated the free speech and religious liberty rights of parents and students who reject the gender identity of transgender students and wish to espouse those views at school or elsewhere in public.
Judge Broomes said his 47-page order leaves it to the Biden administration “to determine in the first instance whether continued enforcement pursuant to this decision is worthwhile.”
Broomes also argued that the rule could harm the privacy and safety of non-transgender students. He cited an Oklahoma middle school student’s statement that “on some occasions,” cisgender boys would use the girls’ restroom “because they knew they could get away with it.”