Federal judge vacates Title IX overhaul in defeat for Biden administration

A federal court on Thursday invalidated the Biden administration’s ambitious overhaul of Title IX, handing the Democratic president a significant defeat on transgender rights as he prepares to leave office.

U.S. District Chief Judge Danny Reeves granted summary judgment to a five-state coalition challenging the Department of Education’s regulatory change of adding “gender identity” to Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in education.

The judge found that the department exceeded its statutory authority, violated the First Amendment of the Constitution and acted capriciously in approving the sweeping rewrite.