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?
Unfortunately, school districts across the nation had to wrestle with this question after the Biden administration announced a new rule change to Title IX—a move that jeopardized students’ privacy, safety and fairness. Alliance Defending Freedom sprang into action, first filing a lawsuit on behalf of a Louisiana school district challenging the rule and then filing a similar lawsuit on behalf of Carroll Independent School District. Thankfully, the latter case resulted in a victory, with a federal district court permanently rejecting the Biden administration’s rule change.
Biden administration redefines ‘sex’ in Title IX
In April 2024, the Biden administration adopted a new rule attempting to redefine “sex” in Title IX to include gender identity. This radical abuse of power threatened the privacy, safety, and constitutional rights of students across the country.
Under the new rule, schools would have been 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 have forced women and girls to undress, sleep, or shower with males who identify as female.
The Biden administration claimed the rule would 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 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 required 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 could be prohibited harassment.
Multiple school districts, including Texas’s Carroll Independent School District, stood 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 had 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 have forced 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 informed board members that they would have to remove their children from the district if it put them in danger by following the Biden administration 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 would have forced the district to upend its policies and put its students in danger if it wanted to continue receiving funding.
If the school district had declined to follow the new rule, it would have faced 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 filed a lawsuit on behalf of Carroll Independent School District. Thankfully, a federal district court issued an injunction halting the rule and later rejected it permanently, bringing an end to the case.
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 moved forward.
- February 2025: The district court permanently rejected the attempted Title IX rewrite.
