The good folks at Citizens for Kids Education (C4KE) asked us to send you this information about a recent ruling regarding the Biden Title IX rewrite, and share their CALL TO ACTION.

The following statement from Moms for Liberty provides an excellent background:

Moms for Liberty and Young America’s Foundation Succeed in Temporarily Halting Biden’s Title IX Changes 

In a landmark ruling, a federal court in Kansas issued an opinion halting the Biden Department of Education’s Title IX changes in a lawsuit brought by Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) and Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) on behalf of their clients Moms for Liberty and Young America’s Foundation.

The organizations joined the states of Kansas, Wyoming, Utah, and Alaska, as well as other students and interest groups, in challenging the Department of Education’s blatant disregard for the First Amendment rights of K-12 and college students.

The members of Moms for Liberty and Young America’s Foundation are parents and students in K-12 schools and colleges who fear sharing their true views—including the view that gender is not fluid, that there are only two genders based on biological sex, and that private spaces on campuses should be kept sex-segregated—in light of the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional changes to the definition of “sex” under Title IX.

Under the Department of Education’s new rule, “sex” no longer means male or female but includes gender identity and sex stereotypes, so anyone who speaks out against gender identity, fails to recognize a classmate’s “preferred pronouns,” or speaks up for their physical safety and right not to have to undress in front of the opposite biological sex can be punished for harassment.

As the parties explained in the briefing before the court, this will have devastating consequences for free speech. The court agreed, ruling that the new rule is so vague that students will be forced to self-censor rather than risk punishment. The order prohibits the Biden Department of Education from enforcing the new rule against the states of Kansas, Alaska, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as every school attended by the members of Young America’s Foundation and the children of Moms for Liberty members.

While this is all very new and we are still fully understanding the positive implication it may have, we do know the only way for Illinois K-12 schools to be included is for parents to become members of Moms for Liberty if your children are in a public school or any school that accepts federal funding. For college students, see below.

YOUR CALL TO ACTION IS TO TAKE A MINUTE AND ADD YOUR SCHOOL
SHOULD YOU FIND THIS INFORMATION IMPORTANT AND IMPACTFUL

Here are the steps:

• For K-12 students, join Moms for Liberty HERE on their website for FREE. You do not have to join a local chapter (Cook County does not have one), so you may join as a National Member/Member at Large.

• Make sure to complete the School District and School fields.

• You will be added to their email list and have access to resources.

• We are also keeping a spreadsheet here at C4KE, so we ask you to please reply to info@c4kenow.com with the name of the school(s) and school districts. Thank you!

• If you have a college-aged student, your student can join Young America’s Foundation HERE and their school will be included.

• This is for federally-funded schools anywhere in the United States.

• You have to act quickly. AS THE DEADLINE TO JOIN FOR THIS INJUNCTION IS THIS SUNDAY JULY 14, 2024.

Please Note: We are still trying to determine how this preliminary injunction affects school districts that have specific unconstitutional policies already in place and/or have litigated this issue in the past. 

We’ve decided it is wise to include as many schools as possible as there could be an opportunity for litigation in the future to challenge current policies.

THERE IS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Please share far and wide.

In the new rules, in Biden’s Department of Education, children will render punishment on the grounds of harassment if: they misgender another person, refuse to change in front of a child of the opposite biological sex or speaks out against gender identify.

To be clear, if you have a 5 year old kindergartener who does not understand pronouns, and the correct labeling of each person, your child could be punished for harassment for misgendering. If your 9 year old child does not feel comfortable changing in front of the opposite sex for gym class, he/she will be subjected to the punishment of harassment, if they refuse.

Let that sink in.

It doesn’t matter how you are raising your child, or the sheer fact that it’s very difficult for a young brain to understand what is going on, your child will face a punishment for harassment if they don’t comply to the new Title IX rules. And by complying they are self-censoring per the court ruling.

This is taken from the judge’s ruling:

“Accordingly, Defendants are enjoined from implementing or taking any action to enforce the Final Rule against Plaintiff States, K.R.’s school, the schools attended by the members of Young America’s Foundation or Female Athlete’s United, as well as any school attended by a minor child of a member of Moms for Liberty. In order to effectuate this preliminary injunction, Plaintiff Organizations are directed to file a notice in the record identifying the schools which the members of Young America’s Foundation or Female Athletes United attend, as well as the schools attended by the minor children of the members of Moms for Liberty, on or before July 15, 2024.

This filing should not identify members of those organizations or the children of any such members. Rather, it should provide notice to Defendants of the schools as to which this order enjoins enforcement of the Final Rule. Should Defendants conclude that they need to know the names of members or their children, Defendants can seek that information through discovery and the court can evaluate the propriety of any such requests and the need for protective orders or similar tools surrounding the disclosure of such information all in a more concrete context.”

We have included the court order for your reference.

We have just about 24 hours to get as many schools as possible represented so please share this email with everyone you know, especially with those with children in schools other than your own.

If you are a grandparent – or have no children – you can still be a MEMBER AT LARGE. Again, we do not know all of the positive implications this may have, but we want to inform you and share what we know so you can join the injunction, should you find it important to you and your family.

Please reach out to us with questions, we will do our best to answer them.

Thank you,

The C4KE Core Team

Click Here to read the preliminary injunction.