New Title IX rule temporarily blocked from taking effect in some South Carolina schools

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD)- A federal judge’s ruling will temporarily block the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule from taking effect in more than a dozen South Carolina schools.

South Carolina was one of several Republican-led states to sue the administration over the revised set of rules that were meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The Education Department unveiled sweeping changes to Title IX — a 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally-funded education programs — in April, to extend the law’s definition to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

“This means biological boys and men that identify as female will be allowed to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson argued. “Students and teachers will also be required to use others’ ‘preferred pronouns.'”

The new rules were set to take effect on August 1, but a Kansas judge granted a preliminary injunction earlier this month blocking its implementation.

U.S. District Judge John Broomes’ decision blocked enforcement of the rule in Kansas, where he’s based, as well as in Alaska, Utah and Wyoming. In addition, he blocked it for any K-12 school or college in the U.S. attended by children of members of three groups backing Republican efforts nationwide to roll back LGBTQ+ rights.

Broomes directed the groups challenging the rule in the Kansas case — Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United — to provide a list of schools and colleges where enforcement would be blocked. On Monday, the groups submitted a list of more than 400 K-12 schools and nearly 700 colleges in at least 47 states and the District of Columbia.

That includes more than 20 schools in South Carolina, according to court documents. Six are K-12 schools and the remaining are a mix of private and public colleges, universities, and technical colleges.

The state’s two largest public universities, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus, are on the list.

Multiple schools in the Charleston area are included including Porter-Gaud School, The Citadel, Trident Technical College, and Charleston Southern University.

According to Wilson’s office, the schools are enjoined from “implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action to enforce” the new Title IX rule until further notice.

South Carolina’s Superintendent Ellen Weaver had previously advised schools to disregard the changes, calling them “deeply troubling.”

And while South Carolina was not a party to this particular case, it is awaiting a decision in a separate lawsuit that argued the administration overstepped its authority.

The Biden administration introduced proposed changes to Title IX in 2022 and Republican leaders have made repeated attempts to halt the process since.

In May 2023, South Carolina Superintendent Ellen Weaver and five other Republican state officials penned a letter to the Education Department expressing their opposition to proposed revisions related to transgender athletes.

The administration originally planned to include a new policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes, but that provision was put on hold.

Gov. Henry McMaster signed a law in May 2022 that bars transgender athletes from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identity. South Carolina is one of 24 states with such a ban.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.