A Biden administration expansion of anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students is now blocked in Alaska, along with 13 other states and various other U.S. locations, following a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday affecting four of those states that is the third such order in less than three weeks.
The challenges are to a Title IX rule change by the U.S. Department of Education expanding the law’s definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. U.S. District Judge John Broomes, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued a 47-page ruling stating Title IX’s definition of “sex” refers to the “traditional concept of biological sex in which there are only two sexes, male and female.”
“Defendants do not dispute that at the time Title IX was enacted in 1972, the term ‘sex’ was understood to mean the biological distinctions between males and females and conceded as such during the hearing,” he wrote. Furthermore, “the legislative history also supports a finding that the term ‘sex’ referred to biological sex. As discussed, one of the principal purposes of the statute was to root out discrimination against women in education. The legislative history shows that Congress was concerned about the unequal treatment between men and women for admissions opportunities, scholarships, and sports.”
The Education Department is reviewing the order and “stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024,” according to a prepared statement issued by the department.
The department’s revised policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and nullifies Trump-era changes allowing schools to use stricter evidentiary standards for sexual assault, harassment and sex discrimination claims.
Alaska, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming filed a lawsuit May 14 seeking to block the rule set to take effect Aug. 1, joining 22 other Republican-led states involved in such lawsuits. If enacted, it would challenge policies by 24 states, including Alaska, banning transgender athletes from teams that align with their declared gender identity.
The Alaska Board of Education and Early Development enacted such a ban for high school students last year. A bill expanding the ban to all education levels from elementary school through college passed the Republican-led state House on May 12, but failed to advance in the Senate as leaders of the bipartisan Senate majority expressed opposition to the measure.
Lawmakers on both sides of the issue acknowledged during debate there are few known instances of transgender athlete participation on sanctioned school sports teams. However, supporters of the bill said the ban is intended to ensure fair competition, and protect girls’ safety in bathrooms and locker rooms. Opponents said the ban subjects transgender students to unfair restrictions and harassment, and likely violates privacy rights granted by the Alaska Constitution.
Broomes, in his ruling, expressed similar sentiments to advocates of the transgender ban bill.
“It is not hard to imagine that, under the Final (Title IX) Rule, an industrious older teenage boy may simply claim to identify as female to gain access to the girls’ showers, dressing rooms, or locker rooms, so that he can observe female peers disrobe and shower,” Broomes wrote. He granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the new Title IX policy, stating “the court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to prevail on several claims.”
Besides Alaska and three other states, plaintiffs in the lawsuit included a middle school student in Oklahoma and three groups — Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United — seeking restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights. Broomes, in his ruling, asks the organizations to file lists of schools where members’ children are students so the ban can be enforced at them.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
