Title IX rules that expand LGBTQ+ protections blocked in 14 Kentucky schools, universities

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the names of Eastern, Northern and Western Kentucky universities.

The Biden administration has been blocked from enforcing its new Title IX rules, which expand protections for LGBTQ+ students, in more than a dozen Kentucky K-12 schools, colleges and universities attended by the children of members of the Florida-based right-wing group Moms for Liberty, including an Oldham County high school and Bellarmine University.

For several school districts in the state, this means the new rules can be enforced in some schools but not others.

The U.S. Department of Education issued new regulations in April for Title IX, the 1972 federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding.

The rules expanded the definition of sex-based discrimination to include discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, gender stereotypes and pregnancy. Many Republican-led states, as well as Kentucky, responded by suing the Education Department, and court orders are currently blocking the rules from taking effect in 21 states.

Still, the rules will be blocked in pockets of Arizona after U.S. District Court Judge John Broomes, who was appointed to the bench in Kansas by former President Donald Trump, issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by four states, Moms for Liberty and two other organizations.

Broomes temporarily blocked the new Title IX rules from taking effect in those four states and in all the schools attended by the children of members of Moms for Liberty across the country, stating that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on several of their claims. The plaintiffs had argued that the new rules were unlawful for several reasons, including that they violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The federal government has appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

Moms for Liberty has so far submitted the names of 14 Kentucky schools, colleges and universities to Broomes, and the group's leaders have said they plan to update the list every two weeks.

Kentucky schools include:

• Corbin Elementary School (Corbin Independent Schools)
• Corbin High School (Corbin Independent Schools)
• Corbin Middle School (Corbin Independent Schools)
• Larry A. Ryle High School (Boone County Schools)
• Marshall County High School (Marshall County Schools)
• North Oldham High School (Oldham County Schools)
• St. Henry District High School
• Union County High School (Union County Public Schools)
• Union County Learning Academy (Union County Public Schools)
• Bellarmine University
• Eastern Kentucky University
• Northern Kentucky University
• Western Kentucky University
• University of Kentucky

Moms for Liberty initially claimed that submitting a list of schools attended by the children of its members was "likely an impossible task" and instead requested the rules be blocked in every county where a Moms for Liberty member lived. The group also claimed the expansion would make it easier for schools to abide by the injunction: "School districts, rather than individual schools, typically have the authority to adopt such policies," the group noted. "Further, absent modification of the order, school districts may be forced to adopt patchwork policies."

Broomes rejected that request. But he also denied the Education Department's request to limit the ruling to Moms for Liberty members who had joined before July 2 and ruled that the injunction would apply to the schools attended by the children of "current and prospective members" of the group, leaving the timeline for membership open-ended.

Supporters and leaders of Moms for Liberty rushed to recruit members to expand the number of schools covered by the ruling. Heather Rooks, a Peoria Unified School District Governing Board member, posted on X: “Parents, make sure to sign up and add your school on your profile so your child can be protected along with their school!” Moms for Liberty has used its social media platforms to urge parents to join the organization and "exempt" their children's schools.

What is Moms for Liberty? Who they are and why they're here

Patchwork ruling may prove complicated for some school districts

The ruling's patchwork nature may pose challenges for school districts, according to Charlotte Patterson, a policy analyst at the Arizona School Boards Association, which provides model policies for school districts across the state.

"I think it’s going to be kind of difficult to manage one or two schools within a district, especially if it’s a large district," Patterson said.

Policies are enacted at the district level, not at the school level, and there's usually one person — a Title IX coordinator — who manages the implementation of Title IX across a school district, Patterson said. Broomes' preliminary injunction means that within several big districts, the Education Department will be able to enforce its new rules in some schools but not others.

Broomes wrote in his preliminary injunction that nothing in his order "limits the ability of any school to adopt or follow its own policies, or otherwise comply with applicable state or local laws or rules regarding the subjects addressed herein."

"Rather," Broomes wrote, it "simply prohibits" the Education Department from "demanding compliance with the Final Rule by the schools affected by this order, or imposing any consequences for such schools’ failure to comply with the Final Rule."

The new regulations — outlined across 1,577 pages — don't just address the definition of sex discrimination. They also strengthen the requirements schools must meet when responding to Title IX complaints and prohibit schools from "separating or treating any person differently based on sex in a manner that subjects a person to more than de minimis harm," except in the cases of sex-segregated sports teams and living facilities.

But the injunction blocks the regulations entirely, despite the Education Department's request to allow some parts of the new rules to go forward.

GLSEN Arizona, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ students, described the lawsuit as an attempt to "ensure transgender students are not allowed in shared spaces, mainly bathrooms and locker rooms," according to a statement from Kelley Dupps, an inclusive policy advocacy manager.

"Transgender and nonbinary students and staff belong in school," Dupps wrote. "When barriers to education like bullying and harassment are removed, all students thrive. That’s why the implementation of Title IX is so important."

School districts await legal advice, watch lawsuits

School districts are taking different approaches to managing the ruling.

Nicholas Buzan, the attorney and Title IX coordinator for Scottsdale Unified School District, said that many of the regulatory changes were "received with gratitude, including the requirement that supportive measures are put in place for complainants and respondents, and that the District will work to assist students with 504 plans and IEPs when addressing Title IX complaints."

"These measures will be implemented regardless of legal challenges in the Midwest," Buzan wrote.

Buzan said that the district's Title IX policy currently has the definitions from the regulations as they were in 2020. He wrote that he is "committed to ensuring that students are not discriminated against based on sex," adding that he's met with "all school principals and assistant principals and communicated the District's intent to investigate every single allegation of discrimination in all of SUSD's 30 schools" and that "no allegation is too small, and all forms of discrimination are not acceptable."

Buzan added that students who are bullied for any reason — including based on their sexual orientation or gender identity — are protected in the district under its policy on student bullying, harassment and intimidation.

One of Scottsdale Unified's schools was included in the list submitted by Moms for Liberty.

An official for the Dysart Unified School District said they are "currently awaiting legal counsel on this topic." The Dysart Unified Governing Board publicly opposed the new Title IX rules in mid-July, though the district's student handbook states that it does not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Two of the district's more than two dozen schools were included in the list submitted Friday by Moms for Liberty.

"At this time, district policy in this area has not changed," said Dysart Unified spokesperson Renee Ryon.

A spokesperson for Gilbert Public Schools, which had three schools on the Moms for Liberty list, said in a statement that the district's attorneys are "monitoring the lawsuits regarding the implementation and enforcement of the new Title IX regulations" and that "no district policy has yet been enacted."

A spokesperson for Mesa Public Schools said the district was still weighing its options and would "continue to keep a close eye on the situation." Five of the district's approximately 80 schools were included in Moms for Liberty's list.

Last week, the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board declined to adopt new Title IX regulations and chose to follow the current Title IX rules, with board members citing ongoing legal challenges against the new rules. Twelve of the district's 42 schools were on the list submitted by Moms for Liberty.

Last week, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said a school district and a charter school stood "ready to be plaintiff" in a case that could block the rules, at least temporarily, from taking effect statewide. Discussions were ongoing “with certain legal organizations,” he said. Dysart Unified School District and Challenger Basic charter school were the involved parties.

Reach the reporter at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Title IX rules that expand LGBTQ+ protections blocked in 14 Kentucky schools, universities