(The Center Square) — A federal judge in Missouri issued another preliminary injunction on Wednesday halting enforcement of the Biden administration’s Title IX rule.
The rule issued by the Department of Education changed the word “sex” to “gender identity” and banned single-sex bathrooms and locker rooms.
A minor from Arkansas and the states of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota asked the court for an injunction in a lawsuit filed on May 7.
U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel said in his 56-page ruling that, as other courts have said, “nothing in his order limits schools from adopting their own policies.”
“‘Rather, it simply prohibits defendants from demanding compliance with the Final Rule by the schools affected by this order, or imposing any consequences for such schools’ failure to comply with the Final Rule,'” Sippel quoted from other injunctions.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin called the injunction a victory for women and girls in Arkansas.
“Congress enacted Title IX to protect and promote educational opportunities for women and girls,” Griffin said. “This preliminary injunction halts the administration’s plan to allow men into women’s and girls’ locker rooms, restrooms, and showers. It stops the administration’s plan to allow males onto girls’ sports teams. It also protects teachers, administrators, and students from the threat of investigation or sanction for disagreeing with the gender ideology of the Biden-Harris White House. And it comes just in time before the start of the new school year.”
The rule was set to go into effect on Aug. 1.
Several states have challenged the rule since it was announced in April and were also granted injunctions.
The Department of Justice asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to limit the injunctions to only gender identity discrimination–the part of the rule the states are challenging, according to a report in The Hill.
The states included in the DOJ’s petition are Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho, according to the report.