Tennessee – A large coalition of gender justice organizations is defending federal rules that seek to ensure transgender students are able to use school facilities – such as restrooms and locker rooms – that align with their gender identity. 

The National Women’s Law Center, along with more than 40 other organizations committed to gender justice, filed a friend of the court brief today in an appeal to a ruling that stops discrimination protections for transgender students from going into effect in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, and West Virginia. The organizations are represented by Democracy Forward in the brief.  

“For more than a half-century, Title IX has been an important tool in making education more accessible and in addressing sex discrimination that is all too common in our schools. The protections under threat in this case are a meaningful step toward ensuring more effective protections for everyone, including student survivors of sexual harassment, pregnant and parenting students, and LGBTQI+ students,” said Kaitlyn Golden, Senior Counsel for Democracy Forward. “It is critical that all people, including students pursuing their education,  can thrive, free from discrimination and harassment.”

Title IX ensures that educational institutions address and prevent sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and reliance on sex stereotypes, and that institutions work to create school environments where all students have equal access to educational opportunities without being hindered by discriminatory practices. A regulation issued by the Department of Education earlier this year under Title IX continues this work by seeking to ensure transgender students are able to use school facilities that align with their identity. That policy is now being challenged in a series of states, including Tennessee, which are arguing that allowing transgender children to use school facilities that align with their gender identity will jeopardize the privacy and safety of cisgender students. Unfortunately, the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a ruling on June 16, 2024 which sides with the states challenging the rule and stops the portion of Title IX from going into effect. 

Currently, Democracy Forward is working with allies to defend Title IX protections in several other active cases regarding Title IX protections for transgender students, including: 

  • Arkansas et al. v. Department of Education
  • Louisiana et al. v. Department of Education
  • Alabama et al. v. Department of Education
  • Kansas et al. v. Department of Education

For more information about Democracy Forward, please visit www.democracyforward.org. 

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