We pass all these laws protecting us but then the courts come along and it becomes a crap shot!
When I was the Executive Director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition I had a lot of contact with the lawyers for the Commission for Human Rights and Opportunists (CHRO). After sitting on panels with them I asked them once, “Why do you kept saying ‘It is our opinion...’ when asked a question if we are protected from discrimination?” Her answer made me realize that no matter what the law says, no matter how it was written… it all boils down to that person on the bench says it is.
That ruling has far reaching affects on the whole country, that one judge down in Kansas effected us here in Connecticut with all our great protections… just void some of them!
All of our great protections were just declared “Null and Void” by a judge down in Kansas! Poof! Gone!
In the Title IX ruling the Kansas court totally ignored the Supreme Court Rulings that they didn’t like going way back to 1989 and the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. In that ruling Ann Hopkins, sued her employer saying that she was being denied partnership because she failure to conform to traditional female stereotypes. The court found that gender played a motivating part in an employment decision. The Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins was the bases for the ruling here in Connecticut in the case before the CHRO ruling “Declaratory Ruling on behalf of John/Jane Doe” based their ruling on that ruling. However U.S. District Judge John Broomes seems to had slective amnesia about the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins and also the recent Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board!
Now back to Connecticut, the ruling is about Title IX but it may not have any effect on state laws, but as lawyers like to say “It is my opinion...”
Once again it all boils down to that person on the bench says the law. And now this case is going before an appeals court which will just add there views and then on to the Supreme Court which gets the final say… and it is “Trump’s court.”
Meanwhile right-wing organizations are hoping up and down with glee!
What I remember of Mr. Wolfgang was when we were passing the non-discrimination law in 2011 he and his group when to go down the stairs but he didn't want to walk by us so he went all the way around to the other stairs. This was taken that night when the bill passed in the Senate.
When I was the Executive Director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition I had a lot of contact with the lawyers for the Commission for Human Rights and Opportunists (CHRO). After sitting on panels with them I asked them once, “Why do you kept saying ‘It is our opinion...’ when asked a question if we are protected from discrimination?” Her answer made me realize that no matter what the law says, no matter how it was written… it all boils down to that person on the bench says it is.
It all boils down to that person on the bench says the law. Do you want to guess who appointed the judge? Trump.Moms for Liberty, parents’ rights groups working to block new Title IX rule from their kids’ schools
Hartford Courant
By Alison Cross
July 29, 2024The fate of federal regulations that would significantly expand the rights of LGBTQ+ students under Title IX is in legal limbo after court rulings placed the U.S. Department of Education’s Aug. 1 implementation of the new policies on pause in thousands of schools across the country, including Connecticut.
Litigation brought by parents’ rights groups and state attorneys general who oppose the new protections for LGBTQ+ students has successfully blocked the 2024 Title IX Final Rule, crafted by President Joe Biden’s administration, through preliminary injunctions as the challenges play out in court.
Among other changes, the Final Rule expands the Title IX definition of sexual harassment and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, and pregnancy or related conditions. The Final Rule also clarifies that schools and colleges must address conduct even in incidents that occur outside of an education program or beyond U.S. borders.
That ruling has far reaching affects on the whole country, that one judge down in Kansas effected us here in Connecticut with all our great protections… just void some of them!
What is happening in the courts? Early this month, U.S. District Judge John Broomes of the District of Kansas ordered a sweeping preliminary injunction that prohibits federal enforcement of the 2024 Title IX Final Rule in Alaska, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming and a patchwork of public and private schools across the country. The July 2 order specifically bars the U.S. Department of Education, its Secretary Miguel Cardona, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and their agents “from implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action to enforce” the final rule in the four states and any school attended by members of Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United and the children of Moms for Liberty members.
[…]
In a July 15 court filing, plaintiffs identified Middlesex Middle School in Darien, Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford, Enfield High School, Greenwich Country Day School, Hamden Hall Country Day School, North Branford High School, Stamford High School, King School in Stamford and Mesivta High School in Waterbury as declarants on a list of more than 400 K-12 schools attended by members of Young America’s Foundation that are bound by the injunction. Yale University and Fairfield University were also included among more than 700 college declarants.
[…]
In a filing Friday evening, Moms for Liberty added 16 more schools to the list: in Berlin, Emma Hart Willard School; in East Lyme, Lillie B. Haynes School, East Lyme High School and East Lyme Middle School; in Newtown, Middle Gate Elementary School, Reed Intermediate School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown High School, Newtown Middle School; in Regional District 14, Bethlehem Elementary School, Mitchell Elementary School, Nonnewaug High School, Woodbury Middle School; in Torrington, Torrington High School; and in Wilton, Cider Mill School and Miller Driscoll School.
The list of K-12 schools covered under the injunction is expected to grow in Hartford, Fairfield and Litchfield counties, where local Moms for Liberty chapters operate. Private Facebook groups for the Hartford County and Fairfield County chapters show a combined membership of 778 people.
In the Title IX ruling the Kansas court totally ignored the Supreme Court Rulings that they didn’t like going way back to 1989 and the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. In that ruling Ann Hopkins, sued her employer saying that she was being denied partnership because she failure to conform to traditional female stereotypes. The court found that gender played a motivating part in an employment decision. The Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins was the bases for the ruling here in Connecticut in the case before the CHRO ruling “Declaratory Ruling on behalf of John/Jane Doe” based their ruling on that ruling. However U.S. District Judge John Broomes seems to had slective amnesia about the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins and also the recent Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board!
Now back to Connecticut, the ruling is about Title IX but it may not have any effect on state laws, but as lawyers like to say “It is my opinion...”
How would this impact schools in the state? It is not entirely clear how the injunction will play out in impacted Connecticut schools.
[…]
In the order, Broomes writes that the injunction “simply prohibits Defendants from demanding compliance with the Final Rule by the schools affected by this order, or imposing any consequences for such schools’ failure to comply with the Final Rule,” and that the court’s order places no limit on “the ability of any school to adopt or follow its own policies, or otherwise comply with applicable state or local laws or rules.”
In a statement to the Courant, Patrice McCarthy the executive director and general counsel of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education described the legal battles as “a rapidly evolving issue” in the state.
“We have not yet provided any specific guidance with respect to the litigation,” McCarthy said. “CABE does provide a model Title IX policy to districts, but advises them to consult with their board attorney when questions arise around implementation.”
How is the state responding? In a statement to the Courant on Friday, the Connecticut State Department of Education said it is aware that the court decision has stayed the U.S. Department of Education’s implementation and enforcement of the Final Rule this Thursday.
Peter Wolfgang, the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said he and others are concerned that Final Rule will result in students being penalized for harassment if they do not use someone’s preferred pronouns.
[…]
While Connecticut laws and regulatory policies protect the rights of transgender students to use bathrooms and participate on teams that align with their gender identity, Wolfgang said such issues should remain in state control, not federal interpretation.
Once again the conservatives forget a little something called the Constitution and in particular the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause… just a minor detail.
Activist here in Connecticut are concerned.
What do LGBTQ+ advocates say? LGBTQ+ advocates in the state say that amid the legal challenges, they are reminding school boards and district leaders about their obligations — to follow state laws and protect students’ rights to an equal education.
“My concern is that public school leadership, administrators, etc. will choose to be cautious at the expense of students’ wellness and access to an equitable education,” Melissa Combs, founder of the Out Accountability Project, said.
“Every public school, whether or not they have someone who has enjoined this injunction order out of Kansas, still has an affirmative duty to create and maintain supportive learning environments for all students and to follow the state civil rights law,” Combs added.
This will not be over until the Supreme Court rules.
It is a crap shoot! Nine people will determine out fate.
Judges… whoever win this election in November will pick most likely pick another Supreme Court judge and hundreds more lower level judges! Think about that when you vote!
So who picks the nominees for the president to appoint? Well in the past list came to the president from various sources including the American Bar Association and the Congressional legislators from the district where the judge will be appointed. But all that changed with Trump he went to the far-right and libertarians for his nominees, places like the Federalist Society, a legal group with views once considered on “the fringe” and the Heritage Foundation… the ones that brought you “Project 2025!”
Trump ignored the wishes of the Congressional legislators from the district where the judge will be appointed unless that were from conservatives states, he brushed off the wishes of liberal states like Connecticut.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what holy book I should follow.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what bathroom to use.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me who I can and cannot marry.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what books I can read.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what I can do with my body.
I’m voting for the party that is looking forwards and not backwards.
I’m voting for the party with Integrity, Virtue, & Respect and not for a party that is lead by a con-artist who makes insurance salesman seem like saints!
I’m voting for VP Harris.
Update: Aug. 1 @ noon
And updated list of towns affected here in Connecticut from Out Accountability Project | Parent, Caregiver and Ally Network Facebook page...
The list of schools in CT affected by the injunction order in Kansas continues to grow.
Added July 15, 2024
Middles Middle School (Darien CT)
Connecticut River Academy (East Hartford CT)
Enfield High School (Enfield CT)
Greenwich Country Day School (Greenwich CT)
Hamden Hall Country Day School (Hamden CT)
New Branford Connecticut High School (Northford CT)
Stamford High School (Stamford CT)
King School, Inc. (Stamford CT)
Mesivta Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury (Waterbury CT)
Added July 26, 2024
Emma Hart Willard School Berlin School District
East Lyme High School East Lyme School District
East Lyme Middle School East Lyme School District
Lillie B. Haynes School East Lyme School District
Middle Gate Elementary School Newtown School District
Newtown High School Newtown School District
Newtown Middle School Newtown School District
Reed Intermediate School Newtown School District
Sandy Hook Elementary School Newtown School District
Bethlehem Elementary School Regional School District 14
Mitchell Elementary School Regional School District 14
Nonnewaug High School Regional School District 14
Woodbury Middle School Regional School District 14
Torrington High School Torrington School District
Cider Mill School Wilton School District
Miller Driscoll School Wilton School District
Added July 31, 2024
Amity Middle School – Bethany Amity Regional School District #5
Amity Middle School – Orange Amity Regional School District #5
Amity Regional High School Amity Regional School District #5
Canterbury Elementary School Canterbury School District
Dr Helen Baldwin Middle School Canterbury School District
Mansfield Elem And High School Mansfield School District
Mansfield Elementary School Mansfield School District
Mansfield Middle School Mansfield School District
East Ridge Middle School Ridgefield School District
Farmingville Elementary School Ridgefield School District
Ridgefield High School Ridgefield School District
On the books one day and off the next. People spend so much time and hours on reform and passing laws of reform I have to wonder aren't they tired yet? One good revolution would solve this problem. But no, folks would rather be nice and pass reform laws only to be stricken down when the judges are not on our side. What a game folks fall for. No wonder we never really get anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with revelations is you never know who you will end up with.
DeleteTake the “Arab Spring” in 2010 as an example…
Tunisia = the elections only last a decade and not they have a dictator.
Egypt = they ended up with a military junta.
Libya = there is an ongoing civil war
Syria = there is an ongoing civil war
Yemen = there is an ongoing civil war
And many of the countries now have authoritarian goverments.
Yes, but here there is a chance of an authoritarian takeover via the voting booth. And if not a win by the right, then a promise of civil war. So yes, it's going to be a real crap shoot.
ReplyDelete