Attorney general challenges Biden Title IX changes

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Monday, April 29, that her office has filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Education to challenge recent revisions to Title IX.
Murrill spoke about the new Title IX rules with Gov. Jeff Landry and State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley. They want to stop new rules being added to Title IX that give protections to transgender students that they feel put women in harm’s way.
They also expressed gratitude to other attorneys general who have joined them including in Idaho, Mississippi and Montana.
The U.S. Department of Education released finalized rules and regulations to protect students against sex-based discrimination and harassment. The rules promote accountability and fairness and support students and families.
Murrill said that this new rule from the Biden administration guts Title IX. But advocates for transgender students said that it just offers protections.
The change mandates that schools provide protections against discrimination to include issues related to gender identity.
Teachers would have to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns. Stu-dents would be allowed to use locker rooms and bathrooms that align with their identity.
The lawsuit said it is discriminatory against biological women.
What Louisiana officials say about the new rules
“Here are some of the consequences of the rule. Boys and girls will be forced to share bathrooms, locker rooms and perhaps lodging on overnight field trips with members of the opposite sex. They’ll be forced to use the preferred pronouns or face punishment,” Murrill said. “It raises distinct free speech and free exercise problems. Parents may never hear about unapproved, so-called gender-affirming counseling their children receive because the rule allows the school to conceal that information from parents in certain circumstances.”
“We are not going to pretend that there is some other form of sexual category other than the one that the Almighty has set forth. And that is only two of them,” Landry said.”
Brumley said his message to school boards was clear.
“Allow this legal process to unfold. Rely on our office if you need support, but do not comply with these radical rules from the Biden administration,” Brum-ley said.
Advocates for transgender youth said they are a vulnerable population that needs these protections.
“We know that this is affecting students negatively, increasing all of the negative statistics, increasing suicidality,” said Peyton Rose Michelle, executive di-rector of Louisiana Trans Advocates.
Forum for Equality, an organization that works for LGBTQ+ human rights in Louisiana, said this is an attack on the rights of students.
“We should all be enraged by the relentless assault on LGBTQ+ children orchestrated by Louisiana Republicans. Gov. Landry, Attorney General Murrill and Superintendent Brumley have a callous disregard for the well-being and dignity of these vulnerable young individuals. They must be reminded that these are not just policies they’re attacking; they’re attacking human beings,” SarahJane Guidry, Forum for Equality’s executive director, said in a news release.
When asked about the challenges transgender students face, Murrill said it could be addressed but her priority is protecting biological women.
She did not offer instances when a transgender student posed a threat to an-other student, saying she was told stories in confidence.