Texas' legal battle over Title IX protections
AUSTIN — Texas is in a legal fight over Title IX protections.
Monday Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Education Agency to ignore recent Biden Administration changes to the implementation of federal law.
Title IX protects against sex discrimination in education programs.
Earlier this month, the Biden Administration announced revisions including making it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
The Department of Education's new regulatory requirements under Title IX expands the definition of "sex" to include one's self-professed "gender identity."
Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a lawsuit to try and stop the expanded federal law.
Paxton's office says schools could lose federal funding if transgender students are not allowed to use the restroom associated with their "gender identity."
The new rules are expected to take effect on August 1 but Paxton's lawsuit could change that.
The expansion in protections would also ban discrimination against students who are pregnant, terminating a pregnancy, or recovering from a pregnancy.