Ken Paxton files federal lawsuit to block Title IX changes protecting LGBTQ+ students

The lawsuit against the U.S. government, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and two other Department of Education leaders takes aim at the Biden administration's recently-announced updates to Title IX, which is the federal policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that get federal funds.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday morning that attempts to block rule changes extending protections to LGBTQ+ students from taking effect.

The lawsuit against the U.S. government, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and two other Department of Education leaders takes aim at the Biden administration's recently-announced updates to Title IX, which is the federal policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that get federal funds.

The final rule unveiled on April 19 expands the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Some LGBTQ+ advocates said this could make some Republican-backed laws unenforceable, while GOP leaders slammed it as an attack on established protections for cisgender women and girls.

In a statement about the lawsuit Monday, Paxton wrote, "Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at whim, destroying legal protections for women in furtherance of his radical obsession with gender ideology. This attempt to subvert federal law is plainly illegal, undemocratic, and divorced from reality. Texas will always take the lead to oppose Biden’s extremist, destructive policies that put women at risk."

KXAN reached out Monday morning to the White House as well as the U.S. Department of Education for comment about the litigation. This story will be updated once any responses are shared.

Paxton filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division. It's unclear when a hearing will be held.

This came after Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, sent a letter last week to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath, asking him to direct all superintendents in the state to ignore the Title IX rule changes. KXAN asked the TEA Monday for a response to Cain's letter.

The changes laid out by the Department of Education are set to go into effect on Aug. 1, 2024, and they'll apply to complaints of sex discrimination regarding alleged conduct that occurs on or after that date.