The State of Tennessee v. United States Department of Education
Description: The Association of Christian Schools International and a female athlete in Arkansas are asking a federal district court to allow them to intervene in a lawsuit that challenges the Biden administration’s reinterpretation of federal law that allows males to compete on female athletic teams. Twenty state attorneys general, led by the state of Tennessee, are challenging a guidance document issued by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that interprets Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits “discrimination on the basis of sex,” to bar discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Among other things, this would require that schools subject to Title IX allow males who identify as female to participate on female athletic teams and use female-designated showers and locker rooms.
Female athlete, Christian schools ask 6th Circuit to protect fairness in women's sports
WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral arguments in The State of Tennessee v. United States Department of Education
WHEN: Immediately following hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. EDT, Wed., April 26
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, 100 E. Fifth St., Cincinnati, or view the livestream. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Deputy Director of Media Relations AnnMarie Pariseau at (480) 417-3975.
CINCINNATI – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing an Arkansas female athlete and the Association of Christian Schools International will be available for media interviews Wednesday following oral arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.
A federal district court ruled in September to allow the high school athlete, Amelia Ford, and the Christian school organization to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s reinterpretation of federal law that forces schools to allow males to compete on female athletic teams and in competitions.
“The Biden administration’s radical push to redefine sex threatens the safety, competitiveness, and equality of female athletes,” said ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman, who will be arguing before the court on behalf of Ford and ACSI. “Allowing males to compete in women’s sports undermines fair competition, threatens female athletes’ safety, and removes female athletes’ opportunities to obtain the many benefits of athletic competition that Title IX was designed to safeguard. We urge the 6th Circuit to affirm that biology, not identity, is what matters in athletics.”
In the case, The State of Tennessee v. United States Department of Education, 20 states, led by Tennessee, are challenging documents issued by the U.S. Department of Education that mandate a redefinition of the word “sex” in Title IX to include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” even though this contradicts the law. Among other things, these documents would require that schools subject to Title IX allow males who identify as female to participate on female athletic teams and use female-designated showers and locker rooms.
ACSI’s schools have approximately 500,000 students throughout the country. The ACSI schools compete against public schools that receive federal financial assistance and are required to adhere to the new federal mandate. This places Christian schools and their female athletes at a disadvantage because the public schools they compete against in athletic events would be required by the Biden administration to permit males to compete on female sports teams.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Matt Bowman
Matt Bowman serves as senior counsel and director of regulatory practice for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he leads the team focusing on the impact of administrative law on religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and family. From 2017 to 2020, Bowman was a senior executive service appointee in the Trump administration, serving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Deputy General Counsel, and then in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining HHS, Bowman was an accomplished litigator at ADF for over ten years. Before joining ADF in 2006, Bowman served as a law clerk for Judges Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Michael A. Chagares, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and for Judge John M. Roll at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Bowman earned his J.D. summa cum laude and was first in his class at Ave Maria School of Law in 2003. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and Michigan and is admitted to practice at the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal appellate and district courts.