WASHINGTON, D.C. – America First Legal (AFL), along with co-counsel Christopher Mills, filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in The State of Tennessee, et al., v. Miguel Cardona, et al.
The Biden-Harris Administration rules significantly alter the interpretation of Title IX by requiring schools nationwide to disregard biological differences between boys and girls. These rules redefine “sex” to include gender identity and sexual orientation, interpreting Title IX to make “discrimination against an individual on the basis of their … gender identity” illegal. AFL argues that this interpretation undermines the original intent of Title IX, which was designed to protect girls and women.
AFL has been actively involved in defending what it considers the plain meaning of Title IX. On April 29, 2024, AFL joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over these new Title IX rules. In May 2024, AFL filed an amended complaint and a motion for a preliminary injunction with AG Paxton to prevent these rules from taking effect immediately. On July 12, 2024, AFL secured a preliminary injunction order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that halted the implementation of these rules.
According to AFL, Title IX protects against discrimination based on biological sex. The organization contends that including "gender identity" under this protection would undermine Title IX’s effectiveness and create confusion regarding team participation and facility access.
Today's amicus brief is part of AFL's ongoing efforts to maintain what it describes as common sense and biological reality in legal interpretations affecting educational institutions.
Nicholas Barry, Senior Counsel at America First Legal stated: “No one in 1972, when Title IX was passed, thought ‘sex’ meant anything other than male or female. It is hard to imagine how anyone could believe this now. As Justice Ginsburg made clear, the two sexes 'are not fungible.' Yet there is an ideology that has lost its grip on reality. It demands protections for an individual’s self-identified ‘gender,’ which can change from moment to moment. It includes seemingly infinite 'genders,' and it lacks the ability to articulate basic definitions such as what men and women are. It even rejects the basic biological reality of the two sexes. The courts must reject the Biden-Harris Administration’s understanding of Title IX through this lens.”