Texas AG Challenges Both Trump and Biden Administration Interpretations of Title IX for LGBTQIA Students in New Lawsuit
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has had a lot on its plate lately, including the suspension and impeachment of AG Ken Paxton. But it has taken on a new challenge this week with a broad lawsuit seeking to remove Title IX protections recognized by both the Trump and Biden administrations for LGBTQIA students.
Other lawsuits have challenged the Biden administration’s attempt to extend Title IX to sex-segregated sports teams, intimate facilities for transgender students, and even use of student pronouns. But the Texas lawsuit challenges the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX to protect LGBTQIA students from any discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
If a Federal court agrees with the lawsuit, it would remove protections for LGBTQIA students that both the Trump and Biden administrations have recognized since at least August 2020. Back then, the Trump administration’s Office for Civil Rights publicly opened a case for investigation alleging different treatment of a student for being gay, which had not been the policy of OCR before. Keep reading for what you need to know about the Texas AG’s lawsuit and its potential impact on schools in Texas and beyond.