The July 30 ruling from U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon of the Northern District of Alabama paves the way for the U.S. Department of Education to enforce its new rule in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina starting on Aug. 1.
Some 26 Republican-led states have mounted legal challenges to the Title IX revision, which declares that the existing federal law against sex-based discrimination in education settings also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The rule does not address sex-separate sports teams, but it would apply to bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower areas, meaning that schools and colleges could lose federal funding if they require students to use the facilities corresponding to their biological sex.
