By attorney Miriam Van Heukelem
On July 2, 2024, the United States District Court for the District of Kansas entered a preliminary injunction against the 2024 Title IX Regulations. This ruling joins previous injunctions entered by federal courts in Louisiana and Kentucky, bringing the total number of states in which the 2024 Title IX Regulations are blocked to 14. The primary issue in all of these cases is the U.S. Department of Education’s extending the definition of “sex” under Title IX to include gender identity. While the Iowa Civil Rights Act provides protection from discrimination in education on the basis of gender identity, there are several recent Iowa laws governing bathroom/locker room usage and girls/women’s sports that likely conflict with the USDE’s interpretation of the non-discrimination requirements of Title IX.
The Kansas court issued an expansive injunction affecting not just the states that were plaintiffs to that suit, but also applying the injunction to “any school attended” by members of the Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United, and minor children of members of Moms for Liberty, the plaintiff organizations in the Kansas case. The court ordered the three plaintiff organizations to file with the court by July 15, 2024 a list of all schools attended by members or minor children of members of these organizations. Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United filed a list of colleges attended by their members that includes several Iowa Colleges and Universities. Schools on this list are subject to the Kansas injunction until further notice. Moms for Liberty filed a list including 20 Iowa counties** along with an affidavit stating that their organization could not identify members by the schools their students attend. They have asked the court to expand the injunction to apply to all counties where Moms for Liberty members reside. Until the court rules on this request, it is not clear what the scope of the injunction ruling will be for Iowa schools in the affected counties. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education is challenging and seeking an appeal of this ruling, so there may be changes to the status of this injunction as the case quickly progresses.
In addition, the State of Iowa is a plaintiff in a case pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri seeking an injunction against the 2024 Title IX Regulations. If an injunction is entered in this case, it would apply to all schools in Iowa that are subject to Title IX. Other cases are pending in the federal courts in Texas and Alabama, and it is possible that a nationwide injunction may ultimately result.
What does this mean for your school?
Any school covered by the Kansas injunction must not implement the 2024 Title IX Regulations until further notice, and should either maintain or revert back to their prior 2020 Title IX policies and procedures. Any K-12 school board that did a first reading of the 2024 Title IX policies but did not hold a second reading and/or vote on final approval does not need to take further action at this time. Any school that has already completed a final approval of new policies should determine what steps may be needed to revert back to its 2020 policies if an injunction applicable to your school is entered. If you have any questions about this, please contact your Ahlers attorney to discuss.
Any school not subject to the Kansas injunction will still be expected, for the time being, to comply with the 2024 Title IX Regulations. However, if a statewide injunction applicable to Iowa or a nationwide injunction is issued before or after August 1, those schools will also need to pivot quickly to revert back to their prior 2020 Title IX policies and procedures.
We understand that the regulatory uncertainty in the current environment is difficult, both administratively and for affected stakeholders in your communities. All schools should closely monitor developments in the pending cases and appeals and be prepared to change direction on short notice. We will continue to provide updates through our client alerts when there are material changes or developments impacting Iowa schools.
If you have any questions regarding next steps, please contact an attorney in the Ahlers & Cooney Education Law Practice Area for guidance.
** The following Iowa Counties were listed in the Moms for Liberty notice: Allamakee, Boone, Buchanan, Calhoun, Carroll, Dallas, Dickinson, Dubuque, Hardin, Linn, Madison, Marion, Page, Pocahontas, Polk, Scott, Sioux, Story, Warren, and Webster.
About Ahlers & Cooney's Client Alerts
Our Client Alerts are intended to provide occasional general comments on new developments in Federal and State law and regulations which we believe might be of interest to our clients. The Client Alerts should not be considered opinions of Ahlers & Cooney, P.C., and are not intended to provide legal advice as a substitute for seeking professional counsel. Readers should not under any circumstance act upon the information in this publication without seeking specific professional counsel. Ahlers & Cooney will be pleased to provide additional details regarding any article upon request. Additional copies of this Client Alert may be obtained by contacting any attorney in the Firm or by visiting the Firm's website at www.ahlerslaw.com.
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