Tennessee
Judge axes Biden Title IX rule against transgender discrimination after Tenn., other states sue
Trans athletes, Title IX rule changes debated in House hearing
A house subcommittee listened to witnesses on the Biden’s proposed rule change to Title IX to include gender identity under sexual discrimination.
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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee has approved funding for Summer EBT benefits that will put money directly on families’ grocery cards, but the program will not kick in until summer 2027.
This delay leaves families to find other resources for the upcoming summer.
The program will make way for eligible families to get $120 in federal funds per child to spend on groceries during summer months when kids lose access to school breakfast and lunch.
About 700,000 Tennessee children would qualify for the benefit.
Tennessee participated in 2024 but skipped the program for 2025 and 2026.
Advocates like Marissa Spady, senior manager at No Kid Hungry, say the program couldn’t be more critical.
“It’s very exciting to know that families will have the resources that they need to make sure that their children are able to head back to school in August with having the nutrition they need to be ready to learn,” Spady said.
The program allows families to use benefits at grocery stores and farmers markets they already shop at, bringing millions of federal dollars into Tennessee’s economy.
For families needing help this upcoming summer, you can check with your school district about summer meal sites and other resources.
To learn more about how this delay impacts local families and what resources are available now, watch the full video report above. Have questions or a story idea? Reach out to me directly at Eric.Pointer@NewsChannel5.com.
This story was reported by Eric Pointer and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Eric Pointer and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Middle Tenn. gardeners: How to handle early spring, dry weather
It’s has been a dry spring for us. Nashville is over 6 inches below normal for rainfall for the year with Clarksville over a 9 inches deficit. Kim Rafferty went to a nursery to get a couple of tips that may be useful for you.
– Lelan Statom
Tennessee
Tennessee lawmakers react after shooter opens fire during White House Correspondents’ Dinner
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – President Donald Trump and other top leaders in the U.S. are unharmed after being evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when a shooter opened fire at the hotel the event was being held.
The Associated Press reported that the incident happened outside the ballroom where the dinner was being held. The correspondents’ dinner was scrapped and will be rescheduled.
The FBI said the shooter is in custody.
During a press conference after the incident, President Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped.
Trump unharmed after security incident at White House correspondents’ dinner
Trump responds after shooter opened fired at correspondents’ dinner
Some Tennessee lawmakers have shared their reactions to the on social media.
Gov. Bill Lee:
Congressman Andy Ogles, who was at the dinner, posted a video to X saying he and his other colleagues were safe.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn:
Sen. Bill Hagerty:
U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps:
The AP reported that the FBI Washington field office is investigating the shooting.
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
At least Jermod McCoy didn’t have to wait long on Saturday, after a difficult fall over the first two days of the NFL Draft.
McCoy, a cornerback from Tennessee who missed all last season due to a knee injury, was the first pick of the fourth round to the Las Vegas Raiders. He was expected to go much sooner. Some thought he could go in the first round on Thursday. There were multiple concerns about his ACL injury and whether he’ll need more surgery, Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson reported.
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There will be a bit of a reunion as McCoy joins the Raiders. McCoy’s first college interception was against a quarterback from Cal named Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza moved on to Indiana, won a Heisman Trophy and was the first overall pick of the draft to the Raiders. McCoy and Mendoza get to be teammates in the NFL.
Jermod McCoy, who missed all last season after suffering a torn ACL, slid in the NFL Draft. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
(Jacob Kupferman via Getty Images)
If McCoy was healthy coming into this year’s NFL Draft, it seems like a foregone conclusion he would have been a first-round pick. He might have gone in the top 10. But in January of 2025, he tore his right ACL while working out. That forced him to miss the entire 2025 season, but he was still considered a potential first-round pick based on what he had shown already in college.
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But NFL teams were clearly worried about his medical exams. McCoy didn’t get picked in the first round and he slid in the second round too. Cornerbacks Colton Hood, Avieon Terrell, D’Angelo Ponds and Brandon Cisse were taken in the second round with McCoy on the board. That’s when it was obvious teams were scared of the injury. McCoy probably would have gone ahead of all of those cornerbacks, and perhaps even the two first-round cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Chris Johnson, if he never got hurt.
The third round came and went without McCoy being picked, leading to another night of wondering where he’d go. The Raiders took a chance on him to start the third day of the draft. If his knee holds up, it will be tremendous value.
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