WASHINGTON — Since the 1970s, a federal law known as Title IX has banned sex discrimination in education.

A federal judge in Lexington blocked President Joe Biden's administration June 17 from expanding the rule to include discrimination based on gender identity.

That expansion was intended to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ students. The judge’s injunction applies to Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The judge said the expanded rule would force officials in the six states to choose between enforcing their own laws or violating the new federal gender identity mandate.  

Attorney General Russell Coleman, R-Ky., joined the other states in the lawsuit challenging the rule.

“The judge’s order makes clear that the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to redefine ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ is unlawful and beyond the agency’s regulatory authority," Coleman said in a statement this week. "As a parent and as attorney general, I joined this effort to protect our women and girls from harm.”

“Title IX is going to be the rule of law at the end of the day, we believe, and I'd say Kentucky schools should go ahead and get out in front of it and adopt policies that include and protect transgender kids,” said Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign.

Enforcing the new Title IX rule would upend Senate Bill 150, the sweeping anti-trans legislation passed by Kentucky lawmakers last year, he said.

“The new Title IX rule would absolutely affirm that trans kids deserve to use those facilities where they're going to be safe and included,” he said. “What Senate Bill 150 has attempted to do and what the attempt to block the new Title IX rule is aiming to do is to keep trans kids in unsafe facilities that don’t match their gender identities.”

The expanded Title IX rule was set to take effect in August.

A different federal judge also temporarily blocked it in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana.