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 score 'W' at 6th Circuit
CINCINNATI – In a victory for female athletes, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled Friday to uphold a lower court order that blocks, in 20 states, Biden administration guidance documents that illegitimately reinterpret federal law to allow, among other things, males to compete in women’s sports. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent Arkansas female athlete Amelia Ford and the Association of Christian Schools International.
“The Biden administration’s radical push to redefine sex threatens the equal opportunities that women and girls have enjoyed for 50 years under Title IX,” said ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman, who argued before the court on behalf of Ford and ACSI. “Once again, the administration has overstepped on Title IX and tried to usurp congressional authority. This is a significant victory for Amelia and the Christian schools we represent. Biology, not gender identity, matters in athletics.”
In the case, State of Tennessee v. United States Department of Education, Tennessee led 19 other states in challenging documents issued by the U.S. Department of Education that mandate expanding 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. Their 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.
The 6th Circuit’s ruling only deals with the administration’s Title IX guidance documents, and not its recently released final rule. ADF attorneys are currently litigating several cases challenging the final rule and have already secured a federal court’s preliminary injunction halting the administration’s illegal attempt to rewrite Title IX.
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.