The state of Texas is suing the Biden administration over recently announced federal protections for LGBTQ+ students, arguing the Department of Education overstepped its authority by expanding the scope of a landmark anti-sex discrimination law.
Paxton is asking US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to block the Biden administration from enforcing changes to Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools that receive federal aid.
The lawsuit claims that the Biden administration violated federal rulemaking procedures when it went through the process for issuing the new rule.
Among other things, the new federal rule aims to curb discrimination “based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” according to the department.
Attorneys for Texas wrote in the 30-page complaint that the state would be “harmed” if the new rules are allowed to take effect.
Under the new policy, such cases seeking nationwide or statewide orders will go into the lottery system used by the entire district.
But the chief judge of the federal trial-level district that Amarillo is in has said that the court will not at this time adopt the new proposals.
An appointee of former President Donald Trump, the judge has previously ruled against Biden administration efforts to strengthen anti-discrimination protections in health care for LGBTQ+ individuals.
In a lawsuit against the Biden administration, the state of Texas claims the Department of Education exceeded its jurisdiction by extending the reach of a historic anti-sex discrimination law. The lawsuit concerns the recently announced federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.
In an attempt to ensure that the lawsuit would be assigned to a conservative judge with a track record of granting nationwide injunctions against federal policies—his most notable decision, made last year in a significant abortion case that is currently before the Supreme Court—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit on Monday at an Amarillo, Texas, courthouse.
In his request, Paxton is asking US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to stop the Biden administration from implementing modifications to Title IX, the federal statute from 1972 that forbids sex-based discrimination in educational institutions receiving government funding.
According to the lawsuit, during the process of issuing the new rule, the Biden administration broke federal rulemaking procedures.
The new federal rule, according to the department, intends to stop discrimination “based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” among other things. August is when the rule is scheduled to go into effect.
The 30-page lawsuit from Texas’s attorneys claimed that if the new regulations are permitted to go into effect, the state will be “harmed.”.
“The filing argues that Texas educational institutions are dependent on federal funding and that they would suffer irreversible harm if they lose that funding due to their reliance on fifty years of Title IX practice and legal precedent that interprets “on the basis of sex” to mean biological sex rather than “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”.
In an interview with CNN, a representative for the Department of Education stated that the agency had adhered to “a rigorous process to give complete effect to the Title IX statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally-funded education.”. “.
Representative Vanessa Harmoush said in a statement, “We look forward to working with school communities all across the country to ensure the Title IX guarantee of nondiscrimination in school is every student’s experience.”.
Judge-shopping.
The federal judiciary’s policymaking body released a proposal earlier this year that aimed to stop the exact kind of “judge-shopping” that Paxton seems to be engaging in by bringing the lawsuit against Kacsmaryk. Litigants employ a strategy that involves filing lawsuits in courthouses where they know the cases will be heard by judges who will likely be sympathetic to their positions.
According to the new policy, these cases requesting orders on a state-wide or national level will be entered into the district-wide lottery. However, the chief judge of the federal trial-level district that includes Amarillo has declared that the new proposals will not be adopted by the court at this time.
The case’s docket page indicates that Kacsmaryk is currently handling it. A former Trump appointee, the judge has struck down attempts by the Biden administration to improve LGBTQ+ health care anti-discrimination laws.
In recent weeks, the Biden administration has been working to strengthen protections for the LGBTQ+ community. The Department of Health and Human Services unveiled new anti-discrimination rules in healthcare one week prior to the Title IX changes, which it described as a “giant step forward for this country toward a more equitable and inclusive health care system.”. “.
More information has been added to this story.
Avery Lotz, DJ Judd, and Tierney Sneed of CNN contributed to this story.
