Utah and a Coalition of States Halt Overreaching Title IX Mandate

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - In a win for the state of Utah, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas granted a request for a Preliminary Injunction in Kansas v. U.S. Department of Education. The challenge from several state attorneys general opposed President Biden's radical changes to Title IX, the law designed to create opportunities for students in education and athletics.

This preliminary injunction was correctly granted based on both the law and common sense. The DOE far surpassed its constitutional authority. For now, Utah schools are not bound by an overreaching federal mandate. We are proud to stand with Kansas in our lawsuit that was supported by Alaska and Wyoming. The rule defied the intent and plain meaning of Title IX by lessening protections for girls and women in areas such as sports.

- Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes

In its opinion, the Court found that the Final Rule from the U.S. Department of Education "is contrary to law and exceeds statutory authority, is an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power under the Spending Clause, violates the First Amendment, and is arbitrary and capricious."

As the Court wrote, "…the purpose of Title IX was to protect 'biological women from discrimination in education[;] [s]uch purpose makes it difficult to sincerely argue that, at the time of enactment, discrimination on the basis of sex included gender identity, sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, or sex characteristics.' The DoE's reinterpretation of Title IX to place gender identity on equal footing with (or in some instances arguably stronger footing than) biological sex would subvert Congress' goals of protecting biological women in education. The Final Rule would, among other things, require schools to subordinate the fears, concerns, and privacy interests of biological women to the desires of transgender biological men to shower, dress, and share restroom facilities with their female peers."

Previously, Utah had joined a brief to the Court, which was led by the State of Kansas, and co-signed by the States of Alaska and Wyoming.

Read the ruling by the District Court here.