Federal Policy On Transgender Students Blocked In Court

A U.S. district judge in eastern Kentucky blocked a U.S. Department of Education policy that encourages schools to respect the rights of transgender students.

That includes allowing students to use the bathroom or play on sports teams that align with their gender identity, and also for teachers to use their preferred names or pronouns.

West Virginia Attorney General and Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey led a six-state lawsuit against the department to stop the policy from being enforced. If schools did not follow the policy, they risked losing federal education funding.

At issue is whether the policy is or is not consistent with Title IX, a 1972 law that promoted equality for girls and women in education, including school sports. The department expanded its interpretation of Title IX recently to include transgender students.

Morrisey and others opposed the participation of transgender girls on girls’ sports teams, calling it “a retreat from the progress women have made.”

Judge Danny Reeves, chief judge of the Eastern District of Kentucky, said the department’s policy exceeded the authority granted to it by Congress and violated the Constitution.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the department would appeal the ruling, or has time to do so. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to end the policy once he takes office.