Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an advisory to schools across the state regarding the application of Title IX following a recent legal victory. This development comes after Paxton successfully halted the implementation of rules proposed by the Biden Administration’s Department of Education on June 11. The federal court ruled that these rules would have forced Texas schools to adopt “transgender” policies, which were deemed to violate existing state and federal laws.
The court stated, “to allow [the Biden Administration’s] unlawful action to stand would be to functionally rewrite Title IX in a way that shockingly transforms American education and usurps a major question from Congress. That is not how our democratic system functions.”
As a result of this ruling, Texas schools are not required to adopt or enforce any policy changes outlined in the now-invalidated rule. According to Paxton, this decision ensures that Texas students retain their Title IX protections without risking federal funding loss.
In his advisory, Attorney General Paxton clarified: “This ruling covers all Texas school districts and ensures no district in our State will have to comply with the Biden Administration’s illegitimate interpretation that Title IX includes gender-identity requirements, including allowing men into women’s restrooms, locker rooms, sports teams, or requiring students or teachers to use pronouns based on gender identity rather than biological sex. And if any Texas school district adopts a policy or procedure that conflicts with or contravenes state law, then I will pursue every remedy available to protect students and teachers from these illegal and radical policies.”
