Texas AG Ken Paxton sues to block Title IX expansion

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Monday over extending federal gender discrimination protections under Title IX to LGBTQ+ students.

Title IX is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination in federally funded colleges and K-12 schools. The Biden administration's interpretation of Title IX rules earlier this month redefines gender-based harassment to solidify protections for LGBTQ people and pregnant students.

Paxton joins a number of Republican leaders across the country who have sued to stop the amendment from taking effect.

“Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at his whim and destroy legal protections for women to further his radical obsession with gender ideology,” Paxton wrote in a statement Monday. “This attempt to undermine federal law is clearly illegal, undemocratic and disconnected from reality. Texas will always take the lead in resisting Biden’s extremist, destructive policies that endanger women.”

The Biden administration's updates to Title IX regulations were in response to a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case related to workplace discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII — a civil rights law that prohibits employment discrimination based on sex — applies to gay and transgender workers.

The revised Title IX provisions define gender-based harassment and include harassment based on gender stereotypes, pregnancy and related medical conditions, and gender identity and sexual orientation. It codifies initial guidance documents over which the attorney general's office previously sued the Biden administration.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus for higher education coverage.

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