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Regulations allowing men in women’s spaces ‘are the result of arbitrary and capricious agency action,’ judge says

A federal judge blocked President Joe Biden’s pro-transgender changes to Title IX nationwide on Thursday in a move that prompted celebration from female athletes and Republican lawmakers.

“Huge win for girls and women everywhere!!!” Riley Gaines, a women’s sports advocate and athlete, responded on X. “… Biden’s Title IX rewrite has been vacated nationwide. Common sense is slowly returning.”

Another athlete, Macy Petty, an advocate with Concerned Women for America, also celebrated the ruling.

“Huge win for women! A Kentucky court stopped Biden’s Title IX rewrite nationwide,” Petty wrote on X, “‘expanding the meaning of “on the basis of sex” to include “gender identity” turns Title IX on its head.'”

Under Biden’s rule, released in April, the administration added gender identity to Title IX, allowing female-identifying men into women’s bathrooms and requiring others to address them with their preferred pronouns — alongside other provisions unrelated to transgender issues.

U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves’ ruling blocked the changes for the entire country, determining the regulations “exceed [the administration’s] authority under Title IX, violate the Constitution, and are the result of arbitrary and capricious agency action.”

Up until now, the changes barring discrimination based on gender identity were only blocked in a handful of states.

Reeves also ruled the U.S. Department of Education’s “interpretation of what constitutes sex-based misconduct was too broad,” according to USA Today.

Politico reports more:

The rule took effect in August after a lengthy rulemaking process that drew hundreds of thousands of public comments. The regulation drew praise from civil rights advocates and LGBTQ+ groups while prompting a strong rebuke from Republican lawmakers and conservative organizations.

The Biden administration has touted its regulation as the “most comprehensive coverage” students would receive in the nearly half-century of Title IX. It was also an overhaul of the first Trump administration’s rule that mandated how schools must respond to sexual misconduct.

Dozens of states sued against the rule. Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia argued in their lawsuit in April that the Biden administration rule would punish them for state laws that restrict transgender student participation in women’s sports, hinder the First Amendment rights of students and staff, and bar schools from enforcing their policies to “protect student privacy.”

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, one of the state leaders involved in the case, celebrated the ruling on X.

🚨BREAKING: I’m pleased to announce that, at the urging of Virginia and 5 other States, a federal court has vacated the Biden Administration’s unlawful Title IX rewrite on a NATIONWIDE basis.

All of America is now safe from Biden’s attempt to undermine half a century of…

— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) January 9, 2025

Also involved in the case, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement the ruling will give President-elect Donald Trump the freedom “to take a fresh look at our Title IX regulations when he returns to office next week.”

“The court’s order is resounding victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns,” Skrmetti wrote on X.

Kristen Waggoner, president of the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, also described the ruling as a “tremendous win for women and girls.”

“It stops the Biden admin from gutting women’s sports, destroying student privacy, and unlawfully compelling free speech in schools across America,” Waggoner wrote on X.

MORE: Biden Title IX changes threaten free speech, due process: legal experts

IMAGE: Inez Fletcher/Twitter

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