The Department of Education under the Biden-Harris administration issued new rules reinterpreting Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a law that bars discrimination on the basis of sex in education. The changes force gender ideology on Americans in the name of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Tennessee and Louisiana are leading two lawsuits against the Education Department and its Biden-appointed secretary, Miguel Cardona, seeking injunctions to block the application of the law. The US Courts of Appeals for the 5th and 6th Circuits granted preliminary injunctions, blocking the new rules from going into effect.

Cardona appealed to the Supreme Court, and the high court denied the emergency appeal Friday.

Cardona argued that, even if the courts granted an injunction blocking some aspects of the new rules, those aspects could be "severed" from the others, preserving the overall rules. The Supreme Court rejected that argument.

"In this emergency posture in this court, the burden is on the government as applicant to show, among other things, a likelihood of success on its severability argument and that the equities favor a stay," the justices wrote. "On this limited record and in its emergency applications, the government has not provided this court a sufficient basis to disturb the lower courts' interim conclusions that the three provisions found likely to be unlawful are intertwined with and affect other provisions of the rule."

The Supreme Court's ruling halts the Biden-Harris administration's rules in the states of Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia; and in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho.

Tennessee, Louisiana, and others who joined the lawsuits argued that the administration's Title IX rules unlawfully redefine sex discrimination and violate students' and employees' rights to bodily privacy and safety. They argued that a definition of harassment based on the creation of a "hostile environment" violates the First Amendment by requiring students and teachers to use preferred pronouns.

All nine justices on the Supreme Court agreed that Tennessee, Louisiana, and the groups that joined their lawsuits are entitled to interim relief from the administration's transgender rules. Yet four of the justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented, saying that the injunctions blocking the entire Title IX rules are overbroad.

Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent conservative Christian law firm, represents a West Virginia high school female athlete and Christian Educators Association International, which joined with Tennessee's lawsuit. ADF also represents a Louisiana school board serving more than 20,000 students, which joined Louisiana's lawsuit.

"The Biden-Harris administration's radical redefinition of sex turns back the clock on equal opportunity for women, undermines fairness, and threatens student safety and privacy," Jonathan Scruggs, ADF vice president of litigation strategy, said in a public statement on the ruling. "The Supreme Court rightly affirmed the 5th and 6th Circuit decisions to restrain the administration's illegal efforts to rewrite Title IX while these critical lawsuits continue."

"This administration is ignoring biological reality, science, and common sense," Scruggs added. "Female athletes, students, and teachers across the country are right to stand against the administration's adoption of extreme gender ideology, which would have devastating consequences for students, teachers, administrators, and families."

The Education Department announced in April that it would redefine "sex" in Title IX rules to include "gender identity," requiring schools to ignore the biological differences between male and female in favor of "an individual's sense of their gender."

These rules relied on a hotly contested interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), in which Gorsuch—writing for the majority—ruled that discrimination on the basis of sex in federal employment law entailed discrimination on the basis of gender identity. In that decision, Gorsuch clearly wrote that he did not intend this interpretation to apply to areas such as sex-segregated bathrooms or sports teams.

Yet Biden issued an executive order directing federal agencies to "apply Bostock" to all realms of civil rights law, in a flat contradiction of Gorsuch's narrow ruling.

As Alliance Defending Freedom explained, the Education Department's rules would force schools to "allow males who claim to identify as female to enter girls' private spaces such as restrooms, locker rooms, and showers; to participate in girls' physical education classes; and—despite logically inconsistent disclaimers saying otherwise—to play on girls' sports teams." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

SCOTUS Title IX Download

Tyler O'Neil is managing editor of The Daily Signal and the author of "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center."

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Joe Rogan: 'I'm Fascinated by the Story of Jesus Christ' [Video]

Politicians Called It a 'Chemtrail Conspiracy.' The CIA's Own Files Just Proved Them Wrong

Scotland's Parliament Votes against Assisted Suicide in Pro-Life Victory

Weird: Iraq-Born Man Released from Jail after Bringing Gun, Wearing Tactical Gear, to Texas Elementary School

Iran's Islamic Regime Shows That It Is Truly Evil and Must Be Stopped

Amid War and Persecution, Iran's Christian Community Quietly Grows

Joe Kent Resigns as NCTC Director Citing Opposition to War; Then Trump Posts This Screenshot of Kent's Old Tweet

Senate Opens Debate on SAVE America Act

'Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment': Charges Dropped Against Teen Who Tragically Ran Over Teacher

Ecuador's Daniel Noboa Cracks Down on Crime, and We're All Better Off For It

More Than 300 Iranians Apprehended by Border Patrol Under Trump; Center Square Exclusive

Thousands of Texans Call on Congress to Stop Big Bend Border Wall Construction

Therapist Exposes the 'Pathological' Mentality Behind the Transgender Mutilation Pipeline

Mamdani Appoints 'Transgender' Attorney to Lead New York City's New Office of LGBT Affairs

President Trump Formally Names VP Vance Chair of Fraud Task Force; With California, New York among States in the Crosshairs

2 Iranian Women's Soccer Players Who Defected, Ditch Their Hijabs, Practice with Australian Club after Being Granted Asylum

Over 1,000 Expected at Today's 6th Annual California March for Life

Most Voters Support Bans on Transgender Athletes in Female Sports

Monthly Personal Savings Rate in January Highest Since July, Helped by Lower Taxes

US Senate to Hold Marathon Debate on GOP Voter ID Bill