Rules created by the Biden administration prohibiting schools and universities from discriminating against transgender students were struck down in a Thursday court ruling that applies nationwide.

Tennessee was one of six states that sued to block the rules from going into effect.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called the ruling “a huge win for Tennessee, for common sense, and for women and girls across America.”

“The court’s ruling is yet another repudiation of the Biden administration’s relentless push to impose a radical gender ideology through unconstitutional and illegal rulemaking,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “Because the Biden rule is vacated altogether, President Trump will be free to take a fresh look at our Title IX regulations when he returns to office next week.”

The regulations, which had already been blocked from implementation by a preliminary order, were released by the U.S. Department of Education in April as part of the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, a federal law that bars discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive federal funding. The new regulations expanded the umbrella of sex discrimination to include discrimination on the basis of “sex stereotypes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.”

Under the updated rules, a school would violate the law if it “denies a transgender student access to a sex-separate facility or activity consistent with that of a student’s gender identity.”

The judge who issued the ruling, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves, pulled few punches in his opinion, calling the updated interpretation “unlawful on numerous fronts” and saying the new rules had an “arbitrary nature.”

Reeves saw the updated regulations as a departure from Title IX’s original purpose and longstanding interpretation, writing “Title IX does not encompass the issue of gender identity at all.”

“Put simply, there is nothing in the text or statutory design of Title IX to suggest that discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ means anything other than it has since Title IX’s inception—that recipients of federal funds under Title IX may not treat a person worse than another similarly-situated individual on the basis of the person’s sex, i.e., male or female,” Reeves wrote.

Reeves claimed, despite the U.S. Department of Education’s statements in court to the contrary, that the rules would “require Title IX recipients, including teachers, to use names and pronouns associated with a student’s asserted gender identity,” a flashpoint in the ongoing culture war around LGBTQ+ people, youth in particular.

“President Biden’s radical Title IX rewrite is dead and common sense is ALIVE!” Skrmetti wrote on the social media site X, responding to a post from conservative media personality Clay Travis.

While the protections for gender identity discrimination are the most politically charged, Reeves’ order tosses out the updated regulations in their entirety. The rules made other changes to Title IX, including the system for handling sexual assault complaints, for example.

Shiwali Patel, an attorney in the Obama administration’s Office for Civil Rights who resigned from the Education Department in Trump’s first term, called the judge’s decision Thursday a “huge setback” that will ultimately harm students.

“I hope that they will continue to try to fight back,” she said of the Biden team. “But the reality is that there really isn’t much time for it left.”

The Department of Education did not immediately provide a comment.

Zachary Schermele of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com.

Where outgoing Tennessee football transfers have landed so far

Still looking for their new home

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears interviewed former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel for their head coaching job on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old Vrabel led Tennessee to a 54-45 record and three playoff appearances from 2018 to 2023. The 2019 team advanced to the AFC championship game, losing to Patrick Mahomes and the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Tennessee combined to go 23-10 the next two seasons while capturing back-to-back AFC South championships, only to finish 7-10 in 2022 and 6-11 in 2023.

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Vrabel was a hard-nosed linebacker who played on three Super Bowl championship teams during a 14-year career with Pittsburgh, New England and Kansas City from 1997 to 2010. He was All-Pro with the Patriots in 2007.

The Bears are counting on the next coach to help Caleb Williams develop into a franchise quarterback and lift a team that finished last in the NFC North at 5-12. Chicago fired a head coach during a season for the first time when Matt Eberflus was let go on Nov. 29 with the team in the middle of a 10-game losing streak.

Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson figures to be at the top of the Bears’ wish list. Former Seattle coach Pete Carroll, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady and even Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy figure to get looks.

The Bears have requested permission to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Interim Bears coach Thomas Brown also is in the mix, and general manager Ryan Poles said he is open to the idea of trading draft picks for the right candidate.

Chicago has just three playoff appearances since the 2006 team won the NFC. The Bears’ lone Super Bowl title came during the 1985 season. The team is 15-36 in three seasons under Poles.

The Bears thought they were poised to challenge for a postseason spot after a busy offseason, highlighted by drafting Williams with the No. 1 pick. They also acquired six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers. But instead of making a playoff push, they went into a freefall after a 4-2 start.

Besides firing Eberflus, the Bears have let two offensive coordinators go in the past year. Shane Waldron lasted just nine games after replacing Luke Getsy in the offseason.