Federal Judge In Alabama Rejects Florida & State Coalition Bid To Block New Title IX Rule
From Tampa Free Press
Article By Mike Jenkins, Original Publish Date: July 30, 2024
Rejecting arguments from Florida and three other states, a federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant a preliminary injunction against a new federal rule on sex-based discrimination in education programs.
U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon issued a 122-page decision denying the request from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and four other plaintiffs to block the rule, which pertains to Title IX—a landmark 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education programs.
The states and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in April, claiming that the Biden administration overstepped its legal authority by extending Title IX regulations to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
However, Judge Axon, based in Alabama, determined that the plaintiffs did not provide sufficient arguments to justify a preliminary injunction.
“Plaintiffs must, among other things, establish a substantial likelihood of success on the claims advanced in their complaint to obtain a preliminary injunction from this court,” wrote Axon, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump. “They failed to sustain that burden.”
Axon also noted that the plaintiffs did not adequately support their claims that the Biden administration’s actions were arbitrary and capricious.
“The court highlights that at later stages in these proceedings, more carefully developed legal arguments and the benefit of a fuller evidentiary record might yield a different result,” Axon wrote. “But the court declines to exercise its discretion to grant the extraordinary relief (a preliminary injunction) plaintiffs have requested.”
The states and other plaintiffs immediately filed a notice of appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit contends that the rule could impact issues such as which bathrooms transgender students can use in schools.
In announcing the rule this spring, the U.S. Department of Education stated that the measure would “fully effectuate Title IX’s promise that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally funded education.” The rule has also faced legal challenges in other parts of the country.
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