Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has submitted an amended complaint and requested a stay of agency action and a preliminary injunction in his lawsuit against the Biden Administration. The lawsuit is aimed at preventing what Paxton sees as an unlawful removal of protections for women in educational institutions under Title IX.
The updated complaint outlines the history of Title IX, emphasizing that the law's "prohibition on sex-based discrimination was understood to mean biological sex, not gender identity." The recent rule from the U.S. Department of Education mandates schools to permit men in female bathrooms and locker rooms, allow men on women’s sports teams, and penalize instances of referring to individuals by biologically accurate pronouns. Due to what Paxton believes is the clear illegality of the Biden Administration’s attempt to undermine protections for women, he is seeking a stay of the agency action and a preliminary injunction to halt the new rule from taking effect while the lawsuit proceeds.
On April 29, Attorney General Paxton sued the U.S. Department of Education to prevent new regulatory requirements under Title IX that would broaden the definition of “sex” to include one’s self-professed “gender identity.” Title IX is a civil rights law providing protections to women by prohibiting discrimination based on their sex in any educational program receiving federal funding. This includes everything from K-12 schools to colleges and universities. The new rule modifies these protections for women by obliging schools to accommodate men claiming to identify as women (or “transgender”) by allowing them access into female-only spaces and organizations. If schools refuse, they risk losing federal funding.
“Texas is asking the court to put an immediate stop to Biden’s outrageous, unlawful assault on women’s rights,” stated Attorney General Paxton. “Biden cannot violate the Constitution to subvert Title IX protections for women in his effort to accommodate the fringe demands of ‘transgender’ movement activists.”
America First Legal (AFL) is acting as co-counsel. AFL President Stephen Miller said: “We are asking the federal district court to grant an immediate injunction to halt the implementation of Biden’s attack on girls and women. Biden’s new Title IX rule would force girls in every public school in America to share restrooms, locker rooms and private facilities with men... We are privileged to work in partnership with Texas and the indomitable Ken Paxton to seek the urgent termination of this lawless decree.”