FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 23, 2024) – Attorney General Russell Coleman released the following statement today after the Biden-Harris Administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow its redefinition of ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ to go into effect:
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s radical rewrite of Title IX would rip away 50 years of protections from women and young girls and put entire generations at risk. We’ve already beaten their political agenda in two courts, and we’ll keep fighting on behalf of Kentucky and basic common sense.
“If this Administration wants to continue pursuing its case, we will gladly meet them at the U.S. Supreme Court. Stopping this blatant assault on fundamental protections is just that important.”
Background
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit unanimously agreed with Attorney General Coleman to block the central parts of the rule from taking effect on August 1. The judges also expedited a full hearing of the case for October of this year.
Kentucky Attorney General Coleman and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti have led the national fight to protect equal opportunities in education and athletics for women. In June, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky agreed with the attorneys general and blocked the Biden-Harris Administration’s attempt to redefine “sex” to include “gender identity.”
If allowed to take effect, the Biden-Harris Administration rule would require K-12 schools, colleges and universities to allow males identifying as females access to women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. Any school failing to comply would risk losing federal education funding.
The Department of Education reports that public and private schools across Kentucky received a total of $1.1 billion in federal funding last year.
In addition to dismantling equal opportunities for women, the Biden-Harris Administration's rule would also upend existing parental rights protections, annul free speech protections by, for example, requiring school administrators, teachers and students to use a student’s preferred pronouns, and undermine due process in the academic and athletic world.
Kentucky and Tennessee were joined in their challenge by Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.