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Appeals courts continue to block Biden’s efforts to expand LGBTQ+ protections under Title IX

  • Published in: Politics
  • Last updated: July 20, 2024

Protesters advocating for transgender rights and health care stand outside the Ohio Statehouse, Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, July 17, refused to lift a judge’s order temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students. (AP Photo/Patrick Orsagos, File)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court in New Orleans has refused to stay a lower court order blocking a Biden administration effort to strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ students under the federal law known as Title IX.

At issue is an administrative rule intended to expand the definition of sexual harassment in schools and colleges and add protections for victims. The new protections have been praised by civil rights advocates. Opponents say they undermine the spirit of Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

A federal judge in western Louisiana had blocked the rule, in response to a lawsuit brought by Republican state officials in Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana. The 2-1 ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was dated Wednesday — the same day the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit Appeals Court issued a similar ruling in a lawsuit brought by Kentucky. That has so far resulted in the law being blocked in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Other states where federal judges have blocked the new rule while it was litigated include Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Republicans argue the policy is a ploy to allow transgender girls to play on some sports teams. The Biden administration has said the rule does not apply to athletics.

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