On Friday, the US Supreme Court voted to continue to block enforcing rules from the Education Department intended to protect transgender students.
The protections had been challenged by a number of Republican states. Parts of the Supreme Court ruling were unanimous, while other parts split the court 5-4; with conservative Neil Gorsuch joining all three liberal justices in the dissent.
What The Ruling Means
The emergency order from the Supreme Court upholds rulings by lower courts in Kentucky and Louisiana that pause federal guidelines that were enacted in nearly half of America on August 1st.
The Supreme Court ruled on this issue after the Biden administration asked the highest court to rule on those pauses enacted by Republican states.
Court Unanimously Rejects Biden’s Argument
The emergency order from the court was unsigned, but all nine members of the court agreed that parts of the rules – including protections for transgender students – should be paused pending the resolution of ongoing legal challenges.
The court order reads, “All members of the court today accept that the plaintiffs were entitled to preliminary injunctive relief as to three provisions of the rule, including the central provision that newly defines sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
An Unusual Divide
Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a partial dissent arguing that other parts of the federal regulations should’ve gone into law. Unusually, she was joined by conservative Neil Gorsuch in this opinion.
“A majority of this court leaves in place preliminary injunctions that bar the government from enforcing the entire rule — including provisions that bear no apparent relationship to respondents’ alleged injuries…Those injunctions are overbroad,” wrote Sotomayor.
Republicans Celebrate Victory
The Supreme Court ruling is a victory for Republican-led states and means that the federal rules will be paused in 26 states.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated, saying, “This is a win for student privacy, free speech and the rule of law.”
Progressives Push Back
Critics are concerned that the Supreme Court ruling will endanger transgender students.
Cathryn Oakley of the Human Rights Campaign said, “It is disappointing that the Supreme Court has allowed far-right forces to stop the implementation of critical civil rights protections for youth.”
Debate Rages On
Transgender rights have become a key dividing issue in US politics in recent years, and the Supreme Court is expected to intervene on this issue again in Autumn.
In the court’s next term, beginning in October, they’re expected to confront a case about the constitutionality of a Tennessee law that bans some medical treatment for transgender people under 18 years old.
Biden Seeks Departure From Trump Years
The transgender protections case the Supreme Court just ruled on emerged after the Biden Administration broadened the reach of Title IX protections to include gender identity.
Title IX bars sex discrimination in schools that receive federal money, and dates back to 1972. A number of GOP-led states said the Biden administration had exceeded its authority by including transgender students in the protections.
Department of Education Responds
Spokespeople for the Justice Department refused to respond to the ruling when asked to do so by journalists, but the Education Department offered a strong condemnation of the ruling.
An Department of Education spokesperson said, “While we do not agree with this ruling, the Department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, and we will continue to defend those rules in the expedited litigation in the lower courts.”
ACLU Condemns Court
Director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project, Ria Tabacco Mar, said that GOP-led lawsuits were being used as “attacks on trans kids as a way to roll back other rights for women and girls.”
She added, “We’re disappointed the Supreme Court allowed these cruel and hypocritical tactics to succeed, even temporarily. We will continue to fight for all students to learn in safe and equal schools.”
