Court Cases

Education news, analysis, and opinion about lawsuits and legal proceedings
An LGBTQ+ related book is seen on shelf at Fabulosa Books a store in the Castro District of San Francisco on Thursday, June 27, 2024. "Books Not Bans" is a program initiated and sponsored by the store that sends boxes of LGBTQ+ books to LGBTQ+ organizations in conservative parts of America, places where politicians are demonizing and banning books with LGBTQ+ affirming content.
An LGBTQ+ book section is seen at Fabulosa Books, a store in San Francisco, on June 27, 2024. A federal appeals court has reinstated an Iowa law that prohibits books depicting sex from public school libraries. Challengers claim the law has led school districts to remove scores of books out of fear of violating the law.
Haven Daley/AP
Law & Courts Iowa's Book Ban Is Reinstated by Appeals Court But Case Against It Will Continue
The Iowa law bars books depicting sex in school libraries and discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in preK-6.
Mark Walsh, August 9, 2024
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4 min read
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, right, speaks alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry during a press conference regarding the Ten Commandments in schools Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. Murrill announced on Monday that she is filing a brief in federal court asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s new law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, right, speaks alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry during an Aug. 5, 2024, press conference in Baton Rouge, La., on the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Murrill is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit aiming to overturn the state’s law requiring that they be posted in every classroom.
Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP
Law & Courts Louisiana Uses History, Pop Culture to Defend School Ten Commandments Mandate
Suggested options pair the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, Martin Luther King Jr., and Regina George of "Mean Girls."
Evie Blad, August 7, 2024
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6 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Washington.
The Biden administration's new Title IX regulation was set to take effect Aug. 1, but only in parts of the country as court injunctions block it in 26 states and the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a request to step into the debate.
AP
Law & Courts Biden's Title IX Rule Takes Effect Amid a Confusing Legal Landscape
The rule that expands protections for LGBTQ+ students is effective Aug. 1, but injunctions currently block it in 26 states.
Mark Walsh, July 31, 2024
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7 min read
Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse, Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, July 17, refused to lift a judge's order temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students
Supporters of transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court has refused to block an Ohio school district's policy that bars students from intentionally misgendering classmates by using pronouns that don't align with students' gender identity.
Patrick Orsagos/AP
Law & Courts A District's Rule Against Misgendering Students Is Likely Constitutional
A federal appeals court did not block a policy barring students from using pronouns that don't align with a classmate's gender identity.
Mark Walsh, July 30, 2024
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4 min read
Photo of teenage girl using laptop computer in school library.
E+
Ed-Tech Policy Billions of Dollars for Ed Tech in Schools Are Now in Jeopardy. Here's Why
A federal appeals court ruling has put the funding mechanism for the nearly 30-year-old E-rate program in legal jeopardy.
Alyson Klein, July 25, 2024
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5 min read
The Supreme Court is seen, April 21, 2023, in Washington.
The Supreme Court is seen, April 21, 2023, in Washington. A recent decision from the high court overruled a longtime precedent that called on courts to defer to federal agencies' reasonable interpretations of federal laws. The decision could lead to more challenges to U.S. Department of Education regulations, legal experts say.
Alex Brandon/AP
Law & Courts Not Just Title IX: How the Chevron Decision Could Affect Education Regulations
The Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision could have an impact on Education Department rules interpreting multiple federal laws.
Mark Walsh, July 25, 2024
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7 min read
Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up flags and signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at the school board meeting held at Don Antonio Lugo High School on June 15, 2023, in Chino, Calif.
Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up flags and signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at a school board meeting on June 15, 2023, in Chino, Calif. The district is now suing Gov. Gavin Newsom over a new law banning districts from requiring educators to notify parents if their child requests to use a different name or pronouns in school.
Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register via AP
School Climate & Safety Student Pronoun Policies Put Teachers in a Tough Spot
Teachers have to navigate policies that require them to inform parents when students request the use of different pronouns.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 23, 2024
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5 min read
The Supreme Court building is seen on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Washington.
The Supreme Court building is seen on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Washington. The Biden administration on July 22 asked the justices to allow parts of the new Title IX regulation to go into effect even as provisions on gender identity remain blocked.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Biden Admin. Asks Supreme Court to Allow Part of Title IX Rule to Take Effect
The solicitor general asks that most of new Title IX rule be allowed to go into effect, even as gender-identity provisions remain blocked
Mark Walsh, July 22, 2024
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3 min read
Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan.
Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Two federal appeals courts have denied requests by the Biden administration to put aside injunctions blocking a new Title IX regulation that includes protections for transgender students.
John Hanna/AP
Law & Courts Two Appeals Courts Won’t Block Injunctions Against Biden's Title IX Rule
As the Aug. 1 date approaches for the broad new regulation to take effect, courts have blocked it in much of the country.
Mark Walsh, July 19, 2024
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4 min read
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs bills related to his education plan on June 19, 2024, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, La. Louisiana has become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, the latest move from a GOP-dominated Legislature pushing a conservative agenda under a new governor.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, signs bills related to his education plan on June 19, 2024, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, La. One of those new laws requires that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, but the law is similar to one from Kentucky that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 1980.
Brad Bowie/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP
Law & Courts Posting Ten Commandments in Schools Was Struck Down in 1980. Could That Change?
In 1980, the justices invalidated a Kentucky law, similar to the new Louisiana measure, requiring classroom displays of the Decalogue.
Mark Walsh, July 11, 2024
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13 min read
Misy Sifre, 17, and others protest for transgender rights at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, March 25, 2022. On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, a federal judge in Kansas blocked a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced in four states, including Utah and a patchwork of places elsewhere across the nation.
Misy Sifre, 17, and others protest for transgender rights at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, March 25, 2022. On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, a federal judge in Kansas blocked a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced in four states, including Utah and a patchwork of places elsewhere across the nation. The case is one of eight legal challenges to those expanded legal protections contained in new Title IX regulations issued by the Biden administration.
Spenser Heaps/The Deseret News via AP
Federal Which States Have Sued to Stop Biden's Title IX Rule?
A summary of all the lawsuits challenging the Biden administration's Title IX rule that expands protections for LGBTQ+ students.
Libby Stanford, July 8, 2024
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3 min read
Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. On Tuesday, July 2, a federal judge in Kansas blocked a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced in four states, including Kansas and a patchwork of places elsewhere across the nation.
Kansas high school students, family members and advocates rally for transgender rights, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. On Tuesday, July 2, a federal judge in Kansas blocked a federal rule expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students from being enforced in four states, including Kansas, and a patchwork of places elsewhere across the nation.
John Hanna/AP
Law & Courts Biden's Title IX Rule Is Now Blocked in 14 States
A judge in Kansas issued the third injunction against the Biden administration's rule granting protections to LGBTQ+ students.
Libby Stanford, July 3, 2024
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4 min read
The United States Supreme Court is seen in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2024.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2024. The high court declined on July 2 to take up a case about whether Snapchat could be held partially liable for a teacher's sexual abuse of a student.
Aashish Kiphayet/NurPhoto via AP
Law & Courts Student Says Snapchat Enabled Teacher's Abuse. Supreme Court Won't Hear His Case
The high court, over a dissent by two justices, decline to review the scope of Section 230 liability protection for social media platforms.
Mark Walsh, July 2, 2024
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4 min read
Visitors pose for photographs at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2024, in Washington.
Visitors pose for photographs at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2024, in Washington. The high court on June 28 overruled a longtime precedent and held that courts, not federal agencies, have the primary authority to interpret ambiguous federal statutes.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts What the Supreme Court's Chevron Decision Could Mean for Biden's Title IX Rule
The decision overrules a 40-year-old precedent and could impact lawsuits challenging the final Title IX rule.
Mark Walsh, June 28, 2024
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5 min read
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