Biden administration efforts to protect LGBTQ+ students and workers hit conservative legal roadblocks

CNN —

The Biden administration’s efforts to shore up protections for LGBTQ+ students and workers were partially hindered by two separate court rulings on Thursday and Friday.

In a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, US District Judge Terry Doughty blocked the Biden administration from implementing the new federal protections for LGBTQ+ students – which are set to take effect August 1 – in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho.

A separate ruling Friday by a federal appeals court upheld an existing block on federal guidance seeking to protect transgender students and workers in 20 states.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: Students, parents, educators and advocates gather in front of the White House to press the Biden Administration to release the long-awaited final Title IX Rule on December 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for National Women's Law Center)

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The case Doughty ruled in is one of more than half a dozen challenging new changes to Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools that receive federal aid.

Among other things, the changes aim to curb discrimination “based on sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics,” according to the Department of Education.

“The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to realize the Title IX statutory guarantee,” department spokesperson Vanessa Harmoush said in a statement after Doughty issued his ruling. “The Department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, and we will continue to fight for