Supreme Court upholds injunction against new Title IX rule

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a new Title IX rule that several attorneys general, including Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, have been combatting.

Back in July, AG Skrmetti announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals had confirmed the blockage of the new rule in Tennessee.

Skrmetti said the new rule would have, “...allowed boys into girls’ locker rooms and private spaces.”

Tennessee has argued that the rule is unlawful and previously persuaded two lower courts to stop the rule from taking effect.

“I am grateful that the Supreme Court of the United States agreed that no part of the Biden administration’s Title IX rule should go into effect while the case proceeds,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “This is a win for student privacy, privacy, free speech, and the rule of law.”

The Supreme Court unanimously agreed to continue blocking key aspects of the rule, which would have taken effect Aug. 1. A 5-4 majority voted to prevent the entire rule from taking effect.

“We went to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend equal opportunities for Kentucky’s women and young girls,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a statement. “At its core, this is a fight for common sense itself. And we’ve won at every level of our judicial system. The Biden-Harris Administration is threatening to rip away 50 years of Title IX protections. Together with our colleagues in Tennessee and four other states, we are fighting to uphold the promise of Title IX for generations to come.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision upholds two recent federal appeals court rulings that halted the administration’s unlawful rules in the states of Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia; and Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho,” the Alliance Defending Freedom said in a press release.

The change would’ve redefined “sex” in Title IX rules to include “gender identity.”