DOJ Pleads to Have Anti-Woke Injunction Narrowed

(RightWing.org) – The Justice Department (DoJ) is fighting the courts to rescue ultra-woke rules for schools and colleges. The Education Department introduced the regulations in April, but they were blocked in multiple states by a federal court. Now officials are trying to unfreeze less controversial parts.

In April, the Department of Education updated the Title IX anti-discrimination rules, bringing in a slew of new restrictions based on the deeply controversial gender theory. The new rules include making it “harassment” to use the pronouns someone was born with instead of whatever ones they chose, and gives male students who “identify” as female permission to use female restrooms and other spaces.

More than two dozen states immediately challenged the update, though, and on June 17 a Kentucky federal court issued an injunction blocking the new rules from taking effect in 10 red states.

On July 22, the DoJ filed an emergency application with the US Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow some parts of the new Title IX rules to go into effect. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar is arguing that the objecting states aren’t challenging all of the updates, just those related to gender identity. She says that means other parts could be safely activated. The rules Prelogar wants enforced are mostly related to keeping records, grievance procedures, and protections for students who are pregnant or have children. When the Kentucky court blocked the new Title IX, Pralogar says it refused to consider allowing non-controversial rules to go through.

Now the DoJ is asking for the Supreme Court to narrow the scope of the Kentucky injunction, so it only applies to the three provisions of the rules the states objected to. The move follows a failed attempt to have the injunction struck down; on July 17 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a DoE appeal and ruled the department had exceeded its authority. The DoE updated Title IX following an executive order from President Biden to add gender-related rules.