New Title IX rules are in effect. Here's why Texas schools don't have to comply.

Texas is one of 15 states that are temporarily exempt from new sex-based discrimination rules, which go into effect Thursday and seek to expand federal protections for survivors of sexual assault, students who seek an abortion and LGBTQ+ students.

A North Texas federal court judge issued a preliminary injunction July 11 in response to an amended complaint from Texas challenging the new U.S. Education Department Title IX rules. The decision cleared the way for schools in Texas that receive federal funds to heed Gov. Greg Abbott's order to not comply with the federal mandate despite the Aug. 1 deadline.

The injunction bars the Education Department from enforcing the rules in Texas until the lawsuit is settled, quelling confusion about whether schools and colleges in Texas would lose federal funding if they ignore the new rules.

Title IX is a federal statute from 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and universities that receive federal funds, including in athletics, and protects against sexual harassment. The new regulations, announced in April, come after years of planning and review, and they were meant to expand the definition of sex-based discrimination to include discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, gender stereotypes and pregnancy.

More than 20 states have sued the Biden administration over the new rules, accusing it of federal overreach and claiming the updated regulations will take away from protections for biological women.

More: 'Holding Pattern': Experts discuss Title IX lawsuits' effect on Texas schools, universities

Advocates for the new rules say they are necessary to help adequately protect transgender, nonbinary and LGBTQ+ youth, who often face higher rates of bullying and mental health challenges, and that the new regulations follow legal precedent interpreting sex to include gender identity and sexual orientation in workplace discrimination protections.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initially sued the Education Department April 29 but filed an amended complaint May 13 with a motion for a preliminary injunction and with two University of Texas professors as new plaintiffs, who said in nearly identical declarations that they will not use the pronoun “they,” a singular pronoun often used by nonbinary individuals or excuse absences for students who seek an elective abortion.

“Texas is asking the court to put an immediate stop to Biden’s outrageous, unlawful assault on women’s rights,” Paxton said in a May 14 news release. “Biden cannot violate the Constitution to subvert Title IX protections for women in his effort to accommodate the fringe demands of ‘transgender’ movement activists.”

More: UT professors sue Biden administration over new Title IX abortion, gender identity rules

Brandon Wolf, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ+ rights advocacy nonprofit, said the court injunctions are fueled by Donald Trump-style politics. The injunctions put students at greater risk for bullying at detriment to their education, he said.

"They are standing between those students and the nondiscrimination protections they deserve," Wolf said in a statement. "The willingness of these politicians to sacrifice the health and safety of LGBTQ+ students makes clear that they care only about their own political power—not the people they serve. And it’s students who will pay the price."

Florida-based right-wing group Moms for Liberty also sued the federal Education Department over the new guidance. A U.S. District Court judge in Kansas blocked the new rules from taking effect in four states and in pockets of other states .

While the legal snarls might be confusing for school districts, in reality, most campuses make decisions about what's best for individual students at the local level, said David DeMatthews, a University of Texas education policy professor.

"You're seeing more of a political fight on a highly partisan issue in an election year that is more about gaining attention and stoking fear among voters than it is about changing what is actually happening in schools," DeMatthews said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New Title IX rules are in effect. Here's why Texas schools don't have to comply.