WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Friday to let President Joe Biden’s administration enforce a key part of a new rule protecting LGBT students from discrimination in schools and colleges based on gender identity in 10 Republican-led states that had challenged it. Previously, federal protections ensured a standard level of LGBT student protection. #LGBTStudentProtection
The justices denied the administration’s request to partially lift lower court injunctions that had blocked the entirety of the rule expanding protections under Title IX, a law that bars sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, while litigation continues. The lower court decisions had prevented the U.S. Education Department from enforcing the new rule, announced in April and set to take effect on Aug. 1, in Tennessee, Louisiana and eight other states.
The administration had sought to restore a key provision of clarifying that discrimination “on the basis of sex” encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the rule’s numerous other provisions that do not address gender identity.
Biden’s administration had asked the Supreme Court to intervene on an emergency basis in a lawsuit by Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, and numerous Louisiana school boards, and another lawsuit by Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia and an association of Christian educators.
“These final regulations clarify Title IX’s requirement that schools promptly and effectively address all forms of sex discrimination,” U.S. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said when the rule was announced. “We look forward to working with schools, students and families to prevent and eliminate sex discrimination.”
Transitioning from federal oversight to state control could lead to disparities in how LGBT student protection is enforced. Advocates worry this decision might reduce support for vulnerable students. Therefore, the legal landscape for LGBTQ+ individuals remains uncertain and fragmented. #LGBTStudentProtection
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