Biden officials prepare to blow up Trump's rules on sexual ...

By revising Title IX, the federal education law that prohibits sex-based discrimination, Cardona will be undoing a key legacy of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. He’ll also be leaving his own mark on what is perhaps the agency’s most closely watched initiative and its biggest legal target.Cardona’s groundbreaking move to codify protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in Title IX could set up a fight that’s just as divisive as DeVos’ rule, which drew more than 124,000 written comments during the regulatory process and attracted five lawsuits. More than a dozen states have laws restricting transgender athletes, and several more states are in the process of getting their own measures in place.A coalition of Republican-led states, headed by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, is suing to bar the Education Department from enforcing its interpretation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.The 20 attorneys general argued their states face a “credible threat” of losing significant federal funding due to policies and laws that prohibit transgender students from playing on sports teams, using locker rooms and bathrooms, or staying in residence halls that match their gender identity.A hearing was held in November, but there hasn’t been a decision yet.Fifteen conservative attorneys general last month vowed to sue and also called on the Biden administration to stop its rewrite of Title IX to “redefine biological sex to include gender identity.” They’ve urged Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon, who led the office during President Barack Obama’s second term, to recuse herself from the Title IX rewrite process.Cardona has said the rule is expected in May. Meetings with the White House are scheduled through mid-May, though the Education Department does not have to wait until all the meetings have taken place to release the proposal.It will take several months for the regulatory process to unfold, and a final rule isn’t likely until next year, advocacy groups say.