Like all public school leaders in Texas, the trustees of the Carroll Independent School District take an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States” and of Texas. So what happens when the federal government unilaterally and unconstitutionally reinterprets an education law in a way that prevents them from upholding that oath—and jeopardizing students’ privacy, safety, and fairness in the process?
Unfortunately, school districts across the nation have to wrestle with this question after the Biden administration announced a new rule change to Title IX. Alliance Defending Freedom already filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Louisiana school district challenging the rule, and now we are doing the same on behalf of Carroll Independent School District.
Biden administration redefines ‘sex’ in Title IX
In April 2024, the Biden administration adopted a new rule redefining “sex” in Title IX to include gender identity. This radical abuse of power threatens the privacy, safety, and constitutional rights of students across the country.
Under the new rule, schools would be forced to allow males who identify as female to enter girls’ private spaces like locker rooms, restrooms, showers, and hotel rooms on overnight trips. In other words, the rule would force women and girls to undress, sleep, or shower with males who identify as female.
The Biden administration claims the rule does not affect sports, but the truth is that redefining “sex” in Title IX dismantles women’s opportunities across the board.
What’s more, the Biden administration has already made its position clear by arguing in a separate ADF lawsuit, B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, that males who identify as female should be able to compete in female sports under Title IX.
And the new rule requires school districts to implement policies that violate students’ and staff’s free speech rights. Under the rule, speech expressing the understanding that sex is binary can be prohibited harassment.
Multiple school districts, including Texas’s Carroll Independent School District, are standing up to the Biden administration’s reckless abuse of power.
Carroll Independent School District wants to protect its students
Carroll Independent School District operates 11 schools in and around Southlake, Texas. In the 2023-24 school year, the district served 8,400 students from pre-K through 12th grade. Its policies recognize the biological differences between boys and girls to ensure safety, privacy, and equal opportunity for all students.
Carroll Independent School District maintains separate boys’ and girls’ bathrooms to protect the privacy and safety of its students. But under the Biden administration’s new rule, it would have to let males who identify as female into girls’ restrooms.
The school district also maintains separate boys’ and girls’ teams for many sports, as required by Texas law, so that girls can have a fair chance to compete and are not put at an increased risk of injury. Again, the Biden administration’s new rule would force the district to change this practice and allow males to compete against females.
Carroll Independent School District wants to protect all its students and listen to the wishes of their parents. Parents in the district have informed board members that they will have to remove their children from the district if it puts them in danger by following the Biden administration’s new rule.
The school district receives federal funding, which it relies upon to provide a quality education for the children who attend its schools—particularly for children with disabilities, who receive specialized education services paid for with federal dollars. But by redefining “sex” in Title IX to include gender identity, the Biden administration will force the district to upend its policies. That includes putting its students in danger if it wants to continue receiving funding.
If the school district declines to follow the new rule, it faces the loss of all federal funding. No school district should have to choose between protecting its students’ safety, privacy, and constitutional rights and receiving the funding it needs to operate. That’s why ADF attorneys have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Carroll Independent School District.
Carroll Independent School District v. United States Department of Education
- May 2024: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction on behalf of Carroll Independent School District challenging the Biden administration’s attempted redefinition of “sex” in Title IX.
- July 2024: A federal district court ruled to immediately halt the Biden administration’s attempted rewrite of Title IX applied to Carroll ISD while the lawsuit moves forward.
