A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Texas did not have to follow guidance from the Biden administration which interpreted prohibitions against sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation.
The judge ruled that Biden’s Education Department had unlawfully exceeded its authority when it issued guidance in 2021 that opened up the door for schools to be liable for discrimination if they adopted policies like limiting bathroom access on the basis of sex. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration in June 2023 to shield Texas from enforcement of the policy.
“Nothing in the statute expressly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or other unexpressed grounds,” U.S. District Judge for the North District of Texas Reed O’Connor wrote in a 112-page ruling. “And where Title IX allows for differentiation based on sex due to biological differences — such as intimate facilities and athletic teams — recipients may treat persons in accordance with their biological sex without regard to subjective gender identity.”
