JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A federal appeals court has blocked new Title IX rules from taking effect in Florida and three other southern states, preventing new protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced, at least for now.
It’s been a week of whiplash court rulings on the issue.
It was just Tuesday when a federal judge in Alabama refused to block the new Title IX rules.
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Just two days later, the Atlanta-based appellate court granted the injunction.
As a result of the latest ruling, Florida schools will continue to comply with state laws barring transgender students from using facilities like restrooms that don’t correlate with their biological sex and prohibiting trans women from competing in women’s sports.
The new Title IX rules pushed by the US Department of Education were set to expand sex-based discrimination protections to include gender identity starting Aug. 1.
“Florida law is going to prevail and it should,” State Representative Dean Black (R-Yule) said.
Black celebrated the decision, arguing it will ensure the protection of women’s spaces and sports.
“We are going to protect women. We are not going to allow women’s sports to be erased. We refuse to comply,” Black said.
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But State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) argued without the new rules, LGBTQ+ students will be left unprotected and subject to discrimination.
“A child needs to be supported at an emotional level to thrive, and they can’t thrive if they’re being bullied. They can’t thrive if they’re unable to use a restroom,” Eskamani said.
Courts throughout the country have blocked the new Title IX rules in a total of 26 states, and those cases are far from being settled.
Here in Florida, local school districts will likely be caught in the middle if a future ruling goes the other way, as they’ll either be forced to violate state law and catch the ire of the Florida Department of Education or violate the federal rule and risk losing federal dollars.
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“Any type of shift in policy during the school year would be more complicated. And so, this tension, rub, between state law and federal law is creating confusion and chaos for parents, for educators, for administrators and for students,” Eskamani said.
The Florida Department of Education has repeatedly urged school districts not to comply with the new federal regulations.
After this latest ruling, the department advised state colleges and school districts, “no school or college in Florida should implement the new rules until further notice.”
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