LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — New Title IX regulations designed to expand protections against harassment and discrimination for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students are facing significant legal challenges. Across the country, 26 states have contested the regulations, and in Michigan alone, more than 100 schools have been exempt from enforcing these rules due to a recent federal court injunction. 

On July 19, U.S. District Court Judge John Broomes issued an injunction blocking the new Title IX rules in schools attended by children of members of Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, and Female Athletes United. Consequently, more than 100 Michigan schools have not been required to enforce the new rules.

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As important as this ruling is, however, it only affects specific schools and does not negate Michigan’s state protections under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. This Act, expanded in 2023, “prohibits discrimination in Michigan on the basis of ‘religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status’ in employment, housing, education, and access to public accommodations.” (Michigan Senate Republicans).

Vicki Levengood from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) confirmed with the Detroit Free Press that the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act applies broadly across education and other sectors. Thus, despite the federal injunction, Michigan students still maintain substantial protections under state law.

“For more than 50 years, Title IX has promised an equal opportunity to learn and thrive in our nation’s schools free from sex discrimination,” U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, said in a statement. “These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming, and respect their rights.” 

Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit which advocates for parental rights in education, has been vocal in opposing “President Joe Biden’s Title IX rewrite.” The group was one of many plaintiffs that filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to prevent the new Title IX rule from being implemented.

In a recent news release, the group said: “The Biden administration’s new Title IX regulation expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students goes into effect Aug. 1—in a confused and patchwork fashion as injunctions have blocked it in 26 states as well as at some schools in other states.” They argued that the regulation’s expanded definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity is inconsistent with the original text of Title IX. 

“The regulation says, for example, that a school would violate Title IX if it prohibits transgender individuals from using restrooms that align with their gender identity,” the group said. 

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They also added that the second challenged provision—currently paused by the administration—would require “teachers and students to refer to transgender students by pronouns that align with their gender identity.”

Moreover, the debate over Title IX intersects with contentious issues in sports, as highlighted by recent events at the Paris Olympics.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who was disqualified from the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships due to high testosterone levels, faced Italian competitor Angela Carini at the Paris Olympics, where Carini withdrew just 46 seconds into their bout. 

According to NBC News Reporting, Khelif  “failed to meet gender eligibility tests at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year.” Specifically, sporting officials alleged that the boxer “failed an unspecified test” because he “had male chromosomes.”

Despite this, Khelif met the International Olympic Committee’s eligibility criteria for boxing—barring the rift between the sport’s governing body and the IOC — because the boxer was “assigned female at birth” and identified as female on her passport (PBS News).

Following the incident on August 1, critics like content creator and commentator Isabella Brown criticized the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s boxing in an Instagram post, emphasizing the potential risks and fairness issues involved. 

Brown commented: “There is NOTHING empowering or inclusive about this ideology. To the contrary—it’s putting women directly in harm’s way and excluding us from our own sports. Truth matters. Compassion matters. Reality matters.” 

A similar sentiment was expressed on X, with one user saying, “I can imagine how many @TheDemocrats stood and cheered when the male playing pretend beat on the Italian female boxer in the @Olympics match.” Another added, “There is no such thing as gay rights, women’s rights … this is America. We have equal rights. You are not worthy of extra special rights.”

In Michigan, educational institutions are working to address the legal ramifications of these developments, according to the Detroit Free Press. Schools like Birmingham Public Schools, one district with schools on the Moms for Liberty list, are reviewing the implications of the federal injunction and the new Title IX rules to ensure compliance with both state and federal requirements. 

“This regulatory clarification ensures that LGBTQI+ youth will be able to equally participate in educational opportunities, from being able to attend prom with a date of their choice and wearing clothes that reflect their gender expression to using a restroom that corresponds with their gender identity,” members of a coalition of LGBTQ+advocacy groups wrote to U.S. Congress earlier this month, according to the Detroit Free Press.