top of page

Title IX and Understanding the Legal Landscape

Pelecanos

Breathe in. Breathe out. You are not alone. 


LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans folks, have been a focal point of the front page of the news recently. With the incoming administration, this attention will likely persist, if not intensify. We need to figure out how to navigate the noise, propaganda, and sensationalized media together because it takes a lot of effort to filter through all of that, and the anti-trans tones can be taxing on our mental health. On top of that, tracking the lifecycle of a law or regulation—and its accompanying legal battles—is complex. For these reasons, let’s pause and dissect what’s happening with Title IX (pronounced "title nine") and how it will impact trans students.


What is Title IX?

Title IX is a landmark U.S. federal civil rights law enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal funding. This law applies to K-12 schools and higher education institutions alike.


A Brief History of LGBTQ+ Protections Under Title IX

In President Obama’s first term, his administration issued guidance clarifying that Title IX protections extend to LGBTQ+ students. Then in 2016, just before leaving office, his administration issued additional guidance strengthening these protections specifically for trans students. Predictably, lawsuits followed, and the guidance’s implementation was paused pending legal challenges.


As soon as President Trump took office in 2017, his administration stopped defending the legal challenges against Obama’s guidance, and officially withdrew the guidance, allowing the states and schools to deny Title IX protections to trans students.


The Current Landscape

Wash, rinse, and repeat. President Biden’s administration, having learned from past challenges, opted to create new Title IX regulations rather than relying on guidance letters. Unlike guidance letters, regulations are harder to undo due to the extensive administrative process required.


The new regulations, explicitly protecting trans students, were released last year. Unsurprisingly, they were immediately met with a wave of lawsuits, nearly a dozen, mostly from a group of conservative states supported by the same organization, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Notably, ADF was the mastermind behind the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade, and the attorneys who argued Masterpiece Cakeshop and 303 Creative. 


Fast forward to January 9, 2025, when a federal district court in Kentucky vacated the new Title IX regulations nationwide, deeming them unlawful. 


Why the Court’s Decision Matters… and Why It Doesn’t

Let’s break it down.


Why it matters:

  • Conservatives are celebrating this as a victory, adding fuel to the anti-trans propaganda prevalent in media and public discourse. Decisions like these, and the coverage around them, can contribute to a decline in mental health for our community.


Why it doesn’t matter:

  • The practical impact on trans students’ rights is minimal. The court itself noted that “vacatur of the Final Rule is not likely to have a disruptive effect” as it “would simply cause a return to the status quo” (Tennessee v. Cardona, No. CV 2:24-072-DCR, 2025 WL 63795, at *7 (E.D. Ky. Jan. 9, 2025), as amended (Jan. 10, 2025)). So states will keep doing what they’ve been doing, to put it simply.


The Broader Context

Progressive states and courts have long interpreted Title IX’s sex-based protections to include trans students, regardless of the regulatory back-and-forth. With the court vacating the new regulations, the old ones remain in effect, and these protections persist in many parts of the country.


In contrast, conservative states and courts have consistently excluded trans students from Title IX protections under both the old and new regulations. In some places, the regulations were in force for only a few weeks and most schools never implemented them. 


Finally, even if the new regulations had survived, the next Trump administration had already vowed to dismantle them, once again intentionally ending the government’s defense of the prior administration’s regulation in court. The cycle of advancement and rollback for trans student’s Title IX protections is political déjà vu.


Conclusion

While the court’s decision carries symbolic weight and reinforces anti-trans narratives, the practical impact on trans students’ rights is limited. In progressive states, protections remain robust, while conservative states persist in their exclusionary interpretations. The fight for trans rights under Title IX is far from over, but the fundamental protections in many parts of the country remain unchanged. This court ruling may be an indicator of anti-trans policies we can expect over the next four years though.


I’ll meet you back here soon when the next piece of anti-trans legal news strikes. Until then, stay connected, stay queer, and keep breathing. 



 

Pelecanos is a non-binary attorney who believes a more fantastic future is possible because of trans people. In support of that future, you can find Pelecanos arguing in courtrooms and educating in backrooms across the country. 


This blog post represents the views and opinions of a guest author and may not be fully representative of Rocky Mountain Equality’s position.


bottom of page