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Updated Title IX regulation to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students and staff, but hundreds of N.C. schools are exempt 

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The Biden Administration’s final Title IX regulations to include protections for LGBTQ+ students and school personnel took effect on Aug. 1. Courts in 26 states are blocking its implementation. An emergency request to the U.S. Supreme Court, if allowed, could decide whether the unchallenged provisions in the rule must be implemented.

The updated Title IX regulation safeguards students and employees against sex-based violence, discrimination, and harassment. It protects against discrimination related to sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics while clarifying protections against pregnancy-related discrimination.

The updated regulation also requires schools to take “prompt and effective action” against all sex-based discrimination. 

Title IX was originally passed in 1972 to provide protections against sex-based discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding.  

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Though the updated Title IX secures protections from discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity, these protections do not extend to include transgender students in school athletics.

Many states, politicians, and political organizations have spoken out against this ruling due to its protections for the LGBTQ+ community, with language like “gender identity” being called into question.

North Carolina is not one of the 26 states — all with Republican attorney generals, according to Stateline — that have sought a judicial ruling to block the updated regulations.

States where courts have blocked the ruling include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Hundreds of schools, colleges, and universities in the remaining 24 states without injunctions — including North Carolina — are exempt from the updated regulations because of a judicial decision.

Federal District Judge John Broomes in Kansas issued a ruling that blocks the updated Title IX regulation from taking effect in schools where a student or parent is a member of any of these three groups: Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United, and Moms for Liberty.

These groups were plaintiffs in the Kansas case. The plaintiffs alleged the updated Title IX could violate students’ First Amendment rights by compelling them to use correct pronouns for trans and non-binary students and staff while keeping them from expressing their views on gender identity. 

Plaintiffs also took issue with the updated Title IX rules, alleging they could allow transgender students to enter spaces such as sex-separated bathrooms or locker rooms that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth. 

A total of 205 North Carolina public, private, and charter K-12 schools are blocked from using the new Title IX protections. You can see the full list here. 

A total of 19 North Carolina colleges and universities are also exempt from the new rules. The full list can be found here. 

The N.C. School Boards Association is providing guidance to school districts on implementation.