A federal judge in Texas has rejected a request to scale back his decision to block Obama administration’s directive that transgender students should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.
Late Tuesday, U.S. district Judge Reed O’Connor handed down a decision that kept the preliminary injunction in place that he ordered in August. Texas and 12 other states had brought a case against the Obama administration’s directive, and O’Connor ruled that the government could not enforce the guidelines in any state while the case was ongoing.
The Justice Department had asked O’Connor to limit the injunction to the 13 states that brought the suit forward, but he ruled on Tuesday that he can enforce the ban nationwide.
“It is clear from Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit precedent that this Court has the power to issue a nationwide injunction where appropriate. Both Title IX and Title VII rely on the consistent, uniform application of national standards in education and workplace policy. A nationwide injunction is necessary because the alleged violation extends nationwide,” O’Connor wrote. “Should the Court only limit the injunction to the plaintiff states who are a party to this cause of action, the Court risks a ‘substantial likelihood that a geographically-limited injunction would be ineffective.'”
O’Connor did offer some clarification on the August ruling, saying it only applies to “intimate facilities.” His injunction, O’Connor wrote, “does not affect a school’s obligation to investigate and remedy student complaints of sexual harassment, sex stereotyping, and bullying.”
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected.
The original case, State of Texas, et al v. United States, is still ongoing. Both sides have been ordered to file additional briefs by the end of October.
