In May 2024, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he is co-leading a multistate coalition in filing suit against the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional rewrite of Title IX, which forces schools and universities to allow biological males in female spaces. He filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf of six state attorneys general and an Arkansas high school athlete.
Missouri Interpretation
“Joe Biden is once again exceeding his constitutional authority, this time to put a radical transgender ideology ahead of the safety of women and girls. As the father of a young daughter, I take this personally,” said Attorney General Bailey. “The Biden Administration has threatened to hold federal funding hostage from any institution who rejects this unconstitutional and sexist rule. I’m filing suit because I will not allow federal bureaucrats to subject Missouri girls to unsafe conditions in order to push a radical transgender ideology.”
In complete disregard for the rights of women, the Department of Education’s new regulatory requirements force educational programs that receive federal money to accept a radical transgender ideology. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program that receives federal money, including K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. The new rule ignores these protections for women by forcing educational programs to accommodate biological males’ desire to enter female-only spaces and join female-only organizations. If schools ignore these requirements in an attempt to protect women’s rights, the federal government will revoke their funding.
The attorneys general assert that Biden’s rewrite of Title IX is unconstitutional, circumventing congressional authority. They also point out that the new rule denies women and girls crucial rights enshrined in federal law to accommodate biological males.
Arkansas View
Attorney General Griffin from Arkansas added, “The overwhelming majority of Americans see the Biden administration’s rule change for what it is: a ridiculous, nonsensical and illegal election-year move that few can comprehend or support. It’s outrageous. Congress enacted Title IX to protect and promote opportunities for women and girls in education and sports. For the last half century, that’s what it has done. But President Biden and his Department of Education now want to radically reinterpret Title IX and recast it as a rule about gender identity. The rule we’re challenging today requires schools and universities to allow men onto women and girls’ sports teams. It forces schools and universities to allow men into women and girls locker rooms, restrooms, and shower facilities. It compels teachers, administrators, and even fellow students to use an individual’s preferred pronouns. And it subjects anyone who disagrees with President Biden’s view of sex to investigation and possible sanction. That contravenes Title IX’s plain language, and it violates the Constitution. That’s why we’re challenging it, and it’s also why we’re confident the federal courts will set aside this unlawful regulation. I am proud to stand with my fellow attorneys general and one of my constituents against President Biden’s latest attempt to push forward by fiat what Congress never passed into law and to defend the laws we’ve passed in Arkansas to protect female athletes.”
The suit, filed by the attorneys general of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and an Arkansas high school athlete asks the court to halt the rule, grant a preliminary injunction preventing the rule’s implementation, enter a judgment that the Department of Education’s interpretation is unlawful, and vacate the rule.
The lawsuit can be read here.
