(Updated, 1:49 p.m., with statement from State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield supporting the lawsuit.)
Idaho has joined the growing red-state backlash against rewritten Title IX rules.
On Monday, Attorney General Raoul Labrador said Idaho would join Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana in a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's new Title IX rules announced earlier this month. Labrador said Monday that extending sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ students represents a “distortion” of a landmark 1972 law.
“A new definition of discrimination that includes gender identity will have a significant impact on the progress Title IX has made for girls and women in our society,” Labrador said in a press release. “With one single action, the Biden administration has threatened decades of progress and opportunity for our women while subjecting them to the indignities of being exposed to men in locker rooms and bathrooms.”
The lawsuit also claims the rule fails to define “gender identity,” requiring school administrators to interpret the administration’s intent.
The Biden administration announced new guidelines on April 19.
“For more than 50 years, Title IX has promised equal opportunity to learn and grow without gender discrimination in our nation’s schools,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “This final rule builds on the legacy of Title IX by making clear that all students in our country have the right to attend schools where they feel safe, welcome, and respect their rights.”
This regulation is scheduled to take effect on August 1.
But several Republican-led states want to stop that from happening.
In addition to the lawsuit involving Idaho, the state of Texas filed its own lawsuit Monday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered Texas school districts to ignore Biden administration rules, the Texas Tribune reported Monday.
Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state “will not comply” with the new regulations.
Gov. Brad Little's office did not immediately respond Tuesday morning to a request for comment on the lawsuit or the new regulations.
But state Superintendent Debbie Critchfield said in a statement Tuesday that she supports suing the federal government. Here is her full statement.
“Many local Idaho education agencies are understandably concerned about the implementation of new Title IX regulations and how subsequent enforcement may impact their daily operations.
“My team and I will be closely monitoring these developments and providing updates to school leaders accordingly. We are working with the Attorney General's Office to analyze the significant changes and their impact on the District and Charter.
“I fully support the state’s legal action against the federal government. We are tired of the current administration's tactics of interfering with state government business, in this case locally elected school board members. This type of behavior wastes valuable time and resources and distracts us from focusing on our children’s education.”