The Supreme Court voted 5-4 on Friday to reject a crucial part of the Biden-Harris administration‘s proposed Title IX amendments, which opponents claimed could allow men to compete in women’s sports. The ruling came in response to an emergency request from the administration seeking to enforce new rules aimed at protecting transgender students from discrimination. The judges reportedly declined to take action while the legal process at the state level is still in progress.
The justices refused to let the administration change the lower court orders that had stopped the entire new rule. This rule was meant to expand protections under Title IX, which prevents sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding, while the legal case is still ongoing.
Supreme Court nixes Biden-Harris changes to title IX
The Biden team asked for some changes to the rules to go into effect by August 1, saying the court orders were too ‘broad.’ But, states led by Republicans and conservative groups said the changes were too complicated, claiming schools would struggle to put the rules into practice quickly.
“Schools would have to work out how the rule functions without its key provisions, amend their policies, and train their staff accordingly—all by next week—and then do it all again after judicial review,” Lawyers for Alliance Defending Freedom said last months as per USA Today.
The Biden administration has asserted that the introduction of the new regulation is not intended to determine eligibility for participation in women’s sports. Nonetheless, experts told Fox News in June that the rule could actually lead to more biological men participating in women’s sports.
In April, the Biden team made some big changes to Title IX rules, making it clear that LGBTQ+ students are now protected. The updated rule clarified that Title IX’s ban on “sex” discrimination in schools now includes discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and “pregnancy or related conditions.”
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On August 1, a new rule went into effect that expanded the definition of sex discrimination to include issues related to a person’s gender identity. However, this rule was temporarily blocked by courts in 10 Republican-controlled states. As a result, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to get involved and decide whether the rule should be enforced.
Justices ‘want less controversial rules to take effect’
Justice Neil Gorsuch and the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court didn’t agree with the majority’s decision. They thought the less controversial parts of the new rules should be allowed to start. In her disagreement, Justice Sonia Sotomayor highlighted that the court’s decision keeps temporary bans in place, preventing the government from applying the whole rule, even the parts that don’t relate to the issues the challengers brought up. She said these bans were “too broad.”
“On this limited record and in its emergency applications, the Government has not provided this Court a sufficient basis to disturb the lower courts’ interim conclusions that the three provisions found likely to be unlawful are intertwined with and affect other provisions of the rule,” the court’s unsigned order reads as per Fox News.
