South Dakota joins Arkansas federal lawsuit over Title IX transgender protections

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announces a federal lawsuit against a new Title IX rule that protects transgender students from discrimination in school-related activities. With him at a Tuesday, May 7, 2024, press conference in Little Rock are, left to right, Amelia Ford, a 15-year-old basketball player; Arkansas Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni; and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Tuesday filed a lawsuit with five other states — including South Dakota — against the U.S. Department of Education’s change to Title IX that codifies protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The federal rule, announced in April, protects students and employees from sex-based discrimination, requires schools to offer support for people who make complaints, sets guidelines for schools and codifies protections for transgender students. It is expected to go into effect on Aug. 1.

The 60-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, alleges the education department exceeded its authority by rewriting the law. It also claims the rule is unconstitutional through a violation of the First Amendment, goes against decades of understanding of Title IX making it arbitrary and capricious, and presents “an actual controversy” by redefining “sex” to include gender identity.

The suit seeks to ultimately stop the federal rule’s effective date.

Though Title IX applies broadly, Griffin’s press conference Tuesday largely focused on transgender students joining girls’ sports teams.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Arkansas Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni joined Griffin at the press conference, as did Amelia Ford, a 15-year-old sophomore at Brookland High School near Jonesboro. Amelia and her mother Sara are plaintiffs in the suit, along with Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Amelia, a basketball player, said she’s worked hard to earn her spot on the team and doesn’t want that opportunity taken away from her. She also expressed concerns about the possibility of having “a boy who identifies as a girl” in her bathroom, locker room or hotel room during overnight sports trips.

“You don’t just become a girl by what you feel or by what you think,” Amelia said. “The government should not force us to disregard common sense and reality.”

The lawsuit mentions Ford’s faith several times and states it would be a violation of her Christian beliefs to refer to someone using pronouns that don’t align with the person’s biological sex.

Bailey referred to the Title IX rule as being “in favor of a radical transgender ideology,” and Griffin seemed baffled by the idea of such a proposed change.

“For a legal suit, it can’t just be ridiculous, nonsensical, hard to believe, outrageous — there has to be a legal basis,” said Griffin, who also added that he thinks “nationally, a vast majority of people think this whole thing is nonsensical.”

Asked whether he saw the lawsuit as harmful to transgender students, Griffin said, “No, I see it as following the law.”

Griffin’s lawsuit comes days after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order  instructing public schools to follow state law instead of the federal Title IX rule when it goes into effect in August.

“My message to Joe Biden and the federal government is that we will not comply,” Sanders said during a press conference.

A number of other states have also filed suit against the Title IX rule in their own federal circuit courts, and more are expected.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley criticized the rule last month.

“Mediocre men do not have the right to steal opportunities from exceptional women,” Noem said in a news release. “South Dakota has the toughest law in the nation to protect girls’ and women’s sports. We will defend our laws. We will preserve the rights of women. And we will see President Biden in court.”

In the same release, Jackley said, “The Biden Administration is undermining State authority and one of Title IX’s major achievements, giving young people an equal opportunity to participate in sports.”

On Tuesday, Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager, condemned South Dakota’s participation in the lawsuit.

“This lawsuit is just the latest attempt to erase transgender people from society,” Chapman said in a news release. “This intolerance against a marginalized group of people is a distraction from our state’s real needs and hurts us all.”

The staff of South Dakota Searchlight contributed to this report.

This story was originally published by the Arkansas Advocate. Like South Dakota Searchlight, it’s part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and Twitter.

The post South Dakota joins Arkansas federal lawsuit over Title IX transgender protections appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.