The Supreme Court said Friday it has turned down an appeal from the Biden administration and refused to lift court orders in 26 conservative states that blocked new Education Department rules extending antidiscrimination protections to transgender students.

The vote was 5 to 4.

The decision means the federal education law known as Title IX will forbid schools and colleges in half of the nation from discriminating against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, but not in the other half.

Last month, Solicitor Gen. Elizabeth Prelogar urged the court to allow the rules to take effect nationwide except for disputed provisions, including one requiring that schools permit transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity.

But in an unsigned order, the court denied her appeal Friday.

The justices in the majority said they saw no reason to set aside the lower court rulings and decide on a temporary basis that the rule may take effect nationwide as lawsuits continue.

Conservative Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined in dissent with liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. They said the lower courts erred in blocking the antidiscrimination rules from taking effect in all the states.

The new rules enforcing Title IX had been scheduled to take effect nationwide Aug. 1.

The 1972 law said schools and colleges receiving federal funds may not discriminate “on the basis of sex.” The new rules, issued in late April, define that term to prohibit “discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

The administration relied on the high court’s ruling four years ago, which was written by Gorsuch and said the federal civil rights law that forbids job discrimination based on sex also protects transgender employees.

The new rules do not apply to school sports and athletic competitions. The Education Department said it will consider those issues in a separate regulation.

The provision of the new rules that has caused the most dispute says a school is deemed to discriminate on the basis of sex if it prohibits students from using a restroom or locker room that is consistent with their gender identity.

Republican state attorneys went to court seeking to block the rules from taking effect.

Louisiana Atty. Gen. Elizabeth Murrill said the administration had taken “Title IX and its promise of equal educational opportunities for both sexes and transformed it into a 423-page mandate that (among other things) allows boys in girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms and requires teachers and students to use a person’s preferred pronouns.”

She sued and won a court order from a federal judge that blocked the new rules from taking effect in her state and three others.

“The text of Title IX shows it was intended to prevent biological women from being discriminated against in education in favor of biological men,” said U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe, La. He said the Education Department did not have the authority to redefine the law to apply more broadly.

In all, six federal judges have blocked the new rules in 26 states. Three U.S. appeals courts have upheld those preliminary orders.

The new antidiscrimination rules will be in effect in California and the other blue states. Earlier, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and his counterparts in 14 other Democratic states had urged the Louisiana judge to uphold the broader antidiscrimination rules.

The Supreme Court has so far refused to rule directly on the issue. However, the justices have agreed to decide in their next term whether states may bar the use of hormones and other gender-affirming care for transgender teens.

Republicans and Democrats have been divided for a decade on whether to extend antidiscrimination rules to transgender students.

The Trump administration refused to expand the discrimination rules under Title IX, but President Biden pledged to do so upon taking office.

He issued an executive order in March 2021 “guaranteeing an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity.” He said the Education Department should issue new Title IX rules “as soon as practicable.”

But it took until April this year for final rules to be issued.

In May, former President Trump said he would repeal them if he were elected again.

“We’re going to end it on Day One,” Trump said on a talk radio show. “Don’t forget, that was done as an order from the president. That came down as an executive order. And we’re going to change it — on Day One it’s going to be changed.”

• As the Democratic National Convention approaches, some Democrats remain concerned about a potential lack of support from “uncommitted” voters, who are angry about U.S. backing for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
• It is unclear how much leverage the “uncommitted” movement has following the surge in enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign as compared to Biden’s, making voter apathy less of a threat. Nonetheless, Harris and her team have prioritized communication with Arab American leaders.
• The Trump campaign continues its own Arab American outreach with a pitch highlighting the situation in Gaza under Biden’s administration and a promise from Trump’s team to give the community a seat at the table if he wins.

Of the thousands of delegates expected to gather Monday at the Democratic National Convention, just 36 will belong to the “uncommitted” movement sparked by dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

But that small core has outsized influence.

Anger over U.S. backing for Israel’s offensive in Gaza could generate unwelcome images for convention organizers, with raucous protests expected outside and potentially inside the Chicago arena where Harris will accept the nomination Thursday.

CHAOS ERUPTS AT KAMALA HARRIS NYC EVENT AS DNC BRACES FOR CHICAGO UNREST

Top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with “uncommitted” voters and their allies — including a previously unreported sit-down between Vice President Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan — in an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.

Months of meetings and phone calls between pro-Palestinian activists and the Harris campaign have fallen into an effective impasse. The activists want Harris to endorse an arms embargo on Israel and a permanent cease-fire. Harris has supported Biden’s negotiations for a cease-fire but rejected an arms embargo.

Rima Mohammad, one of Michigan’s two “uncommitted” delegates, said she sees the convention as a chance to share their movement’s concerns with the party leadership.

“It is a way for protesters outside to be able to share their frustration with the party,” she said.

The Democratic nominee meets a key Arab American mayor

Questions remain about the leverage “uncommitted” voters hold now that Biden has stepped aside and Harris has taken his place. Democrats have seen a significant surge in enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign and concerns about voter apathy in key areas, such as Detroit’s large Black population, appear to have diminished.

But Harris and her team have still made communication with Arab American leaders a priority.

During a campaign trip to Michigan last week, Harris met with Abdullah Hammoud, the 34-year-old mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has the largest number of Arab Americans of any city in the United States. The meeting was disclosed by a person who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The person familiar with the meeting did not provide specific details but said the focus was on Harris’ potential policy, if elected, on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hammoud declined to comment.

“Vice President Harris supports the deals currently on the table for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for the release of hostages,” her campaign said in a statement. “She will continue to meet with leaders from Palestinian, Muslim, Israeli and Jewish communities, as she has throughout her vice presidency.”

Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez on Thursday held separate one-on-one meetings with leaders in the Arab American community and “uncommitted” movement in metro Detroit.

“They are listening and we are talking,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who met with Chavez Rodriguez. “But none of us can garner votes in the community without public statements from Harris. She doesn’t need us; she can win over votes by saying and doing the right thing.”

According to Siblani, Chavez Rodriguez agreed that “the killing has to stop.” In response, Siblani said he pressed: “How? There is no plan.”

Lavora Barnes, the Democratic chair in Michigan, said the party would “continue working toward our goal of coming together to defeat Donald Trump and Republicans up and down the ballot.”

“We are committed to continuing these conversations with community leaders, activists and organizations because we want to ensure that everyone in the Michigan Democratic Party has a seat at the table,” Barnes said in a statement.

No agreement on an arms embargo

Some on the Democratic Party’s left have called for including a moratorium on the use of U.S.-made weapons by Israel in the platform of policy goals that will be approved during next week’s convention. But such language isn’t included in a draft platform party officials released earlier this summer, and it’s unlikely that those close to Harris’ campaign would endorse including it.

The Uncommitted National Movement has also requested a speaking slot at the convention for a doctor who has worked on the frontlines in Gaza, along with a leader of the movement. And they have asked for a meeting with Harris “to discuss updating the Gaza policy in hopes of stopping the flow of unconditional weapons and bombs” to Israel, said Abbas Alawieh, another “uncommitted” delegate from Michigan and one of the founders of the movement.

Before a Harris rally just outside Detroit last week, Alawieh and Layla Elabed, co-founders of the movement, briefly met with the vice president. They requested a formal meeting with Harris and urged her to support an embargo on weapons shipments to Israel. According to them, Harris seemed open to the idea of meeting.

However, shortly after news of the meeting became public, Harris’ national security adviser Phil Gordon reaffirmed that she does not support an arms embargo. Alawieh mentioned Wednesday that the group has not received any further response from Harris’ team or the DNC regarding their requests ahead of the convention.

“I hope she doesn’t miss the opportunity to unite the party,” said Alawieh.

The Trump campaign continues its outreach

Elsewhere in metro Detroit this week, Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s youngest daughter and now a leader in his Arab American outreach, was holding meetings with various community groups. Boulos has come to Michigan often for the outreach, along with Arab Americans for Trump chair Bishara Bahbah.

According to Bahbah, their pitch highlights the situation in Gaza under Biden’s administration and a promise from Trump’s team to give the community a seat at the table if he wins.

“We have been told by the Trump circle, which is not part of the campaign, that in return for our votes, there would be a seat at the table and a voice to be heard,” said Bahbah.

But any apparent political opportunity for Trump in the Arab American community or the “uncommitted” movement may be limited by his past remarks and policies.

Many Arabs remain offended by Trump’s ban, while in office, on immigration from several majority Muslim countries as well as remarks they consider insulting. Trump also has criticized Biden for not being a strong enough supporter of Israel.

Speaking to an audience of Jewish supporters Thursday, Trump painted the protesters expected in Chicago as antisemitic and invoked an Arabic term that is sometimes used by Muslims to mean war or struggle.

“There will be no jihad coming to America under Trump,” he said.

But Bahbah acknowledges that his and Boulos’ strategy isn’t necessarily aimed at converting voters to support Trump — but to stop them from voting for Harris.

“If I can’t convince people to vote for Trump, having them sit at home is better,” said Bahbah.

A measure on the November ballot that would double the county’s quarter-cent homeless sales tax is leading in an early poll of Los Angeles County voters but but does not yet have enough support to pass.

Forty-seven percent of likely voters surveyed said they would vote for the new half-cent tax if the election were held immediately, a margin that falls three percentage points short of the majority needed to pass. Thirty-six percent said they would vote no, and 17% were undecided.

That tepid support was reflected in voters’ view of progress made with hundreds of millions of dollars raised under the current tax, called Measure H, that was approved by more than two-thirds of voters in 2017. Fifty-one percent said they were very dissatisfied with the results and 6% somewhat dissatisfied.

Despite spending by the county Homelessness Initiative that reached more than $600 million in the 2023-2024 budget, homelessness climbed steadily for five years before leveling off this year.

The poll, conducted between July 31 and Aug. 11 by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times, had a margin of error of three percentage points, making the race at this point a toss-up.

“I would say that 47% is interesting,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll. “It’s close. I expect a close election.”

The new measure — officially called the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions and Prevention Now measure — would replace Measure H, which is set to expire in 2027, and extend it indefinitely unless repealed by a new vote.

Then Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, center, and then L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, with supporters of ballot Measure H as the final vote tallies are announced, passing by 69.24% in Los Angeles on March 17, 2017.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

It is estimated that it would raise $1.2 billion annually.

The money would fund homelessness programs, including mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, affordable housing, rental subsidies, job counseling and services for vulnerable populations including homeless families, veterans, abused women, seniors and disabled persons.

The 20-page ballot measure specifies that 60% of the revenue would be directed to homelessness services and 15% of that would be distributed to cities based on the annual point-in-time count. An additional 35.75% would go to the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, a new entity created last year by the California Legislature to help people stay in their homes and increase housing and shelter for people experiencing homelessness. The money could be used for rental assistance, purchase or lease of existing housing and new construction.

Backers of the measure said they designed it to make the strategy for using the funds more outcome-oriented and build in more explicit accountability than in Measure H.

It would require programs to set and meet specific targets and mandate regular audits to ensure those showing the highest rates of effectiveness receive sufficient funds.

Backers of the measure said they were not alarmed by responses to the the poll’s two questions on the sales tax, which came at the end of a lengthy series of questions about the race for Los Angeles County district attorney.

A homeless man waits for transportation to housing near encampments being cleaned up along Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Street on Thursday in Hollywood.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

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Their own polling earlier this year showed support of up to 60%. And the yes vote in the new poll, though short of 50%, was well ahead of the no.

“We were leading in our February poll and have an 11-point advantage in this poll because voters want to see a new strategy to create safer and cleaner neighborhoods by removing more encampments, providing more mental health treatment and holding programs accountable for reducing homelessness,” said campaign consultant Yusef Robb.

“If that funding is lost, homelessness will increase by at least 25% as people lose services and housing. No one wants to go backward, and not passing this measure would be catastrophic,” Robb said.

Two committees have been gearing up for a campaign set to kick off next month.

The Angeleno Project, a nonprofit that supports the measure, released polling in March showing likely support from 60% of likely voters, with 39% of respondents saying they would definitely support it, 15% that they support it but could change their mind, and 6% saying they leaned yes.

Breakdowns of the February survey results showed even higher support for specific elements of the measure: increasing mental health treatment for those experiencing homelessness (82%), preserving existing affordable housing (78%), reducing the cost of building affordable housing and housing for homeless people (77%), reducing the burden on local emergency rooms (74%), creating pathways out of poverty through construction (74%) and building more affordable housing (72%).

The new poll showed a strong split by political ideology and income. Those identified as liberal favored it by 68% compared with 23% for conservatives, and those with lower incomes were more likely to favor it. Sixty percent of those making between $60,000 and $99,999 said they would vote for it compared with only 31% of those making $100,000 to $199,999.

DiCamillo said the Berkeley IGS Poll will survey voters again in September and October.

“As we get closer and closer we’ll get a more refined view of the likely voters,” DiCamillo said. “Nobody really can project accurately likely voters until you get really close to the election.”