
After nearly four years of the Biden administration’s leftist agenda, Americans are well aware of its tendency to bend the law. Nowhere is this more blatant than in education, where the administration is trying to exploit the 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County to push through dubious new federal regulations under Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in education. These proposed changes are not only legally shaky but defy common sense by forcing girls to share school bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms with boys.
Luckily, the Biden administration’s plan hit a significant snag recently. Federal courts in Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, and Texas issued preliminary injunctions against these regulations, with more likely to follow. These courts rightly rejected the administration’s flawed argument that Bostock somehow equates hiring and firing employees with showering in high school locker rooms.
On his first day in office, President Biden ordered all federal agencies to revise their policies based on the Bostock decision. Bostock ruled that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, discrimination in employment because of an individual’s sex includes firing someone for being gay or transgender. The court emphasized that “sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role” in such decisions.
This directive led to the new Title IX regulations, which redefine “sex” to include “gender identity.” The result? Boys and girls would have to share bathrooms, locker rooms, and even lodging on overnight field trips. The Biden administration’s interpretation of Bostock is absurd. The court specifically stated its decision applied only to Title VII and didn’t extend to other laws prohibiting sex discrimination. The court also assumed that “sex” in Title VII meant biological distinctions between males and females. Bostock didn’t redefine “sex” to include “gender identity” or “transgender status.”
Despite these clear limitations, the Biden administration rushed to misuse Bostock as a basis for its new Title IX regulations. It insists that “sex” under Title IX includes “gender identity,” even though Bostock doesn’t require anyone to undress, shower, or use the bathroom with members of the opposite sex. Yet, the new Title IX rules would make schoolchildren do precisely that.
The administration’s overreach doesn’t just misinterpret Bostock; it ignores critical differences between Title VII and Title IX, along with basic cultural norms and common sense. The Supreme Court has acknowledged that while there are similarities, the two statutes serve very different purposes. Title VII deals with hiring and firing employees, whereas Title IX ensures equal educational opportunities for women and girls.
Title IX explicitly acknowledges biological differences between sexes. For instance, it allows schools to maintain separate living facilities for different sexes, and since 1975, regulations have permitted separate toilets, locker rooms, and shower facilities. Title VII has no such provisions. Moreover, Title IX prohibits discrimination based solely on sex, while Title VII prohibits discrimination where sex is just one of many factors.
Congress used different constitutional powers to enact these statutes. Title VII is a broad prohibition, while Title IX offers federal funding to institutions that agree not to discriminate based on sex. This funding condition is more limited and doesn’t allow Congress to impose new requirements after the fact. For over 50 years, schools had no idea that accepting federal funds would mean having to redefine the common understanding of sex.
Biden’s regulations undermine Title IX’s original purpose by allowing males who identify as female to access intimate spaces meant for females. This change turns a law designed to protect women from discrimination into one that exposes them to privacy invasions, embarrassment, physical insecurity, and a higher risk of sexual assault.
A federal judge in Louisiana called the new rule an “abuse of power” and a “threat to democracy.” The Biden administration lacks the constitutional authority to redefine fundamental statutory terms like sex; such changes must come from Congress. Since Congress is unlikely to amend Title IX to fit this radical gender ideology, the Biden administration is trying to bypass the legislative process.
Thankfully, the courts are pushing back. The Supreme Court will likely have to clarify Bostock’s scope and address the clash between identity politics and the law. In the meantime, schools in the 15 states covered by these injunctions won’t have to ignore biological realities or common sense.