A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the enforcement of new federal protections for LGBTQ+ students in four Republican-led states. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana halts the Biden administration’s new Title IX protections, set to take effect on August 1, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho.
The protections aim to curb discrimination based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in schools that receive federal aid. The rules would require schools to protect students from all forms of sex discrimination, including sexual violence and harassment, and extend to pregnancy and related conditions like childbirth and termination.
The ruling follows a lawsuit by the GOP-led states, which argues that the Biden administration exceeded its authority in revising Title IX. Judge Doughty's decision, which he said will stand until the lawsuit is resolved or a higher court intervenes, was the first to block the new rule nationally in response to the Republican-led lawsuits. The Education Department has not yet commented on the ruling.