Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. (Photo by Getty Images)

A federal judge has blocked new Title IX rules, including those aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ students from discrimination in K-12 schools, and sided with Republican attorneys general in several states — including Kentucky.?

Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the U.S. District Court in Eastern Kentucky on Monday issued a ruling siding with Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman and his counterparts in five other states. The ruling prevents the U.S. Department of Education from “implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action to enforce the Final Rule, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance,” which was set to begin Aug. 1.?

Coleman and the GOP attorneys general filed the lawsuit in April. At the time, they argued the Department of Education “used rulemaking power to convert a law designed to equalize opportunities for both sexes into a far broader regime of its own making” with the new Title IX regulations.?

Reeves limited the injunction to the plaintiff-states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Biden administration introduced the rules to “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,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. The rules also would have rolled back Trump administration changes that narrowly defined sexual harassment and directed schools to conduct live hearings, allowing those who were accused of sexual harassment or assault to cross-examine their accusers.

In their complaint, the state attorneys general said that under the Biden rule, “Men who identify as women will, among other things, have the right to compete within programs and activities that Congress made available to women so they can fairly and fully pursue academic and athletic excellence — turning Title IX’s protections on their head. … And anyone who expresses disagreement with this new status quo risks Title IX discipline for prohibited harassment.”?

Established in 1972, Title IX was created to prevent “discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance,” according to the Department of Education.

Reeves wrote in his opinion that “the Department of Education seeks to derail deeply rooted law” created by the implementation of Title IX.?

“At bottom, the Department would turn Title IX on its head by redefining ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity.’ But ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ do not mean the same thing,” he wrote. “The Department’s interpretation conflicts with the plain language of Title IX and therefore exceeds its authority to promulgate regulations under that statute.”?

In a press release, Coleman’s office said Monday that schools that would fail to comply with the new rules would risk losing federal funding. Citing the Department of Education, the office said Kentucky’s public and private schools received a total of $1.1 billion in federal funding last year.

“As a parent and as Attorney General, I joined this effort to protect our women and girls from harm. Today’s ruling recognized the 50-plus years of educational opportunities Title IX has created for students and athletes,” Coleman said in the press release. “We’re grateful for the court’s ruling, and we will continue to fight the Biden Administration’s attempts to rip away protections to advance its political agenda.”

A spokesperson for the department said it was reviewing the ruling.

“Title IX guarantees that no person experience sex discrimination in a federally-funded educational environment,” the spokesperson added. “The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to realize the Title IX statutory guarantee. The Department stands by the final Title IX regulations released in April 2024, and we will continue to fight for every student.”

Kentucky politicians react

Reeves wrote in his opinion that the states represented in the lawsuit argued that the Title IX rules would “invalidate scores of States’ and schools’ sex-separated sports policies.” The Kentucky General Assembly passed such a law in 2022 to require athletes in schools to play on teams associated with their biological sex

A sponsor of that law, Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, applauded the opinion in a statement, saying it “or reining in excessive and capricious federal government overreach, in this case, by President Biden’s U.S. Department of Education.” He?added that he viewed the opinion as “as further affirmation of the necessity of legislation championed by the Republican supermajorities in the Kentucky General Assembly and defended by our Republican attorney general.”?

Another lawmaker who backed similar legislation, Rep. Ryan Dotson, R-Winchester, said the ruling was “a move that will preserve the integrity of a federal policy created more than half a century ago to ensure biological females can compete on a level playing field.”?

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear previously said he hoped Coleman avoided “fear mongering” in the lawsuit. In a Monday interview with the Lantern, Beshear said he had not read the opinion, but believed the lawsuit would be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.?

“I understand that there are different opinions, especially when it comes to sports and fairness and the rest, but I hope that we talk about this in ways that doesn’t ostracize anyone, that doesn’t demonize anyone, and that we can talk about what rules should be in sports without attacking anyone,” the governor told the Lantern.?

Read U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves’ ruling

Eighteen of Louisville’s health department and Metro Hall public-facing bathrooms just got period product dispensers thanks to a $1,000 investment from the city’s Office of Women. (Photo provided).

LOUISVILLE – Eighteen of Louisville’s health department and Metro Hall public-facing bathrooms just got period products dispensers thanks to an investment of around a $1,000 from the city’s Office of Women.?

The free products are part of a pilot program that city leaders said Friday is a step toward health equity and also a worthwhile investment in the workforce.?

Getting a period unexpectedly at work or school can force a person to go home and miss out on income or education, said Gretchen Hunt, the director of the Office for Women.?

“Period need is a public health issue,” said Connie Mendel, the interim chief health strategist for Louisville Metro. Providing tampons and pads in public restrooms is no different than providing toilet paper, she said.?

“Lack of access to period products can not only lead to lower productivity by workers or students, but it can also lead to mental health issues like depression,” Mendel said.?

This goes back to the “stigma” surrounding menstruation, she said. Providing period products is a hygiene service as well as a physical, mental, social and economic service, she added.?

“People who (don’t have) products may also try to extend the life of a tampon, which can certainly cause discomfort and health complications, putting them at a greater risk … for toxic shock syndrome, which can be a life threatening infection.”?

The Office for Women estimates that 20% of Kentucky women live in poverty. They also estimate about 20% of teenagers can’t afford period products. Menstruation supplies can cost about $9,000 per person over a lifetime.?

The city’s free products will be available in women’s, men’s and gender neutral bathrooms.?

“These products are available for anyone who needs them, including a father who needs to supply his daughters … with period products,” Mendel said.?

Additionally, the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) is donating period product disposal bins to Louisville Metro Parks.?

Statewide, students lobbied the general assembly this year to exempt period products from sales tax. The bipartisan bill did not advance.?

The Office for Women supports removing that, but it’s “out of our hands” at the statewide level, Hunt said. People need to be educated about the issue, she added. That will decrease stigma and raise awareness about the importance of these hygiene items.?

“The reality is (period products are) not luxury goods,” she said. “They’re necessities.”?

State Rep. Lisa Willner speaks with students of Louisville’s Mercy Academy about her legislation to remove sales tax from period products. Photo by Sarah Ladd for Kentucky Lantern.

FRANKFORT — Jessica Gross has had to leave school because she started her period and didn’t have menstrual products with her.?

“It’s a panic situation,” said Louisville’s Gross, 16, who is a student at Mercy Academy. “It’s not the embarrassment of being on your period. It’s the way that people around you see it.”?

That’s why she supports a bipartisan Kentucky bill introduced Tuesday that would, if passed, exempt period products from sales tax.?

She sees the bill as a first step to gender equality, the de-stigmatization of periods and more accessible menstrual products. Gross was one of about 45 students with Mercy Academy who were in Frankfort to lobby in support of this legislation, House Bill 142.?

Bill sponsors Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, and Rep. Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield, want the tax exemption applied to “tampons, panty liners, menstrual cups, sanitary napkins and other similar tangible personal property designed for feminine hygiene in connection with the human menstrual cycle.”?

The exemption would apply to purchases made on or after July 1 and before July 1, 2027.?

Willner on Wednesday called removal of the tax an “issue of fundamental fairness.” Period products, she said, are “not an optional expense.”?

The Alliance for Period Supplies says 23 states and Washington D.C. exempt menstrual products from sales tax. The Journal of Global Health Reports says more than half of the world’s population menstruate.?

A Thinx & Period study last year reported one in five youth who menstruate had trouble affording period products. Additionally, more than 80% of menstruating youth had missed class or knew someone who missed school time because of their period, according to that report.?

Dr. Laurie Grimes, a Louisville child psychologist, said even if you don’t have access to period products, “the biological process still happens.”?

“So there’s embarrassment and shame and judgment,” Grimes said. “You miss school, you miss work. The stress, the distress, the anticipatory anxiety around that, ‘Am I gonna have enough? Will this last the whole day?’ These are absolutely mental health issues and can have an impact on how you function in your day.”