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M4L Title IX Lawsuit
Moms for Liberty’s historic federal lawsuit against the Department of Education (DOE) challenging the Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX regulations led to a federal district court issuing a landmark preliminary injunction prohibiting the DOE from enforcing these changes in several states and at the schools attended by the children of members of Moms for Liberty.
It is important to understand that this injunction is preliminary in nature, meaning that unless an appellate court rules differently in the future, it will remain in effect until the district court can fully hear the case. It is currently under appeal. This Title IX litigation will likely continue for many months because challenges will continue to be filed and then appealed through the legal system by parties on both sides of the fight.
Ultimately, the issues surrounding the Biden Administration’s Title IX rewrite, which is blatantly unconstitutional and unlawful, will most likely be decided by the United States Supreme Court sometime in the next year.
Initial lawsuit filed with a US District Court in Kansas. Plaintiffs include Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United, Minor K.R, and the states of Kansas, Alaska, Utah, & Wyoming.
Ruling by US District Court granting injunctive relief to the plaintiff states and also members of the plaintiff organizations, including Moms for Liberty.
Clarifies prior ruling that injunctive relief is granted to all current and future members of plaintiff organizations, including Moms for Liberty, thus removing any time limit to join.
The district court stated that the Department of Education cannot implement or enforce its new Title IX regulations in any school attended by a child of a Moms for Liberty member. But because Moms for Liberty does not publish information on where its members children attend school, the district court told Moms for Liberty to submit a list of schools to put the Department of Education on notice that it cannot enforce or implement the Title re-write at those schools. This essentially created an opt-in system, allowing Moms for Liberty to submit a list of schools that its member’s children attend and to update that list on a continued basis. The list will not identify members by name, it will only list the schools.
Current Moms for Liberty members need to go through their “member portal” and click the link that says “Edit Profile” to opt into a list of schools that can be protected from Title IX implementation. This link is connected to a NEW list of US public schools that members can use to select their child’s school. If not already a member of Moms for Liberty, follow the link titled “Join the Fight” to sign up as a member and then continue to the opt-in to list to select the child’s school.
Detailed instructions of how to opt-in and ensure that Moms for Liberty can inform the district court that your child’s school is covered by the injunction can be found at momsforliberty.org/title9/. If you do not see your US public school on the list in the member portal, please email Moms for Liberty at [email protected].
No. The preliminary injunction prohibits the Department of Education from implementing or enforcing the Title IX rewrite at all schools attended by children of current and future Moms for Liberty members. Moms for Liberty can and will continue to update the list of schools it provides to the district court unless an appellate court says otherwise.
On July 15, other parties in the lawsuit provided the district court with a list of schools that their members attend, but because Moms for Liberty is organized at the county level it was not able to provide a list of schools at that time and only submitted the schools attended by the children of the four brave Moms for Liberty members who put their name on the lawsuit.
Simultaneously, Moms for Liberty’s attorneys worked through the legal process to ensure maximum protections possible for Moms for Liberty members, ultimately obtaining clarification that the preliminary injunction applies to both current and future members and that it can continuously update the list of schools as needed.
The DOE has asked the appellate court to revisit the inclusion of schools of Moms for Liberty members who joined after July 2, 2024, and Moms for Liberty’s attorneys are diligently defending their inclusion.
Moms for Liberty and its legal team wants the district court’s July 2024 order to apply to as many schools in the US as possible. To that end, the district court is allowing Moms for Liberty to submit (and update on a regular basis) a list of schools that its members’ children attend so that it can notify the DOE that it cannot enforce the Title IX rewrite at those schools. The list of schools will NOT identify Moms for Liberty members by name—it only lists the schools, nothing else.
Historically, Moms for Liberty has never collected information on where members’ children attend school. Because of this, inclusion of a member’s child’s school is completely opt-in and based on a NEW list of US public schools that members can choose from. The only way a school will appear on the list submitted to the district court is if a member logs in to the member portal and updates their member profile to include school information, or if a current non-member joins Moms for Liberty as a member and provides school information.
Members of Moms for Liberty and their families are heroes in standing up for the rights of their children, but in doing so they have become subject to harassment, threats, and intimidation. Moms for Liberty is committed to protecting the security and personal identifying information of its members while still availing them of this important legal victory. The organization and its legal team continue to work to make sure that this order can be applied in a safe, secure way.
For purposes of the district court’s preliminary injunction, it does not matter what type of Moms for Liberty member you are.
Moms for Liberty encourages ALL prospective members to begin the process of becoming a chapter regular member. This membership has many benefits, far beyond anything connected to the potential outcome of litigation. Chapter regular membership is the best value to anyone interested in joining the organization.
Once a list of member schools is submitted to the district court putting the district court and DOE on notice that those schools are covered by the injunction and included in the court’s protection from implementation of the Title IX rewrite, those lists will all be available on this webpage (linked below) and with the lawsuit’s key legal filings at https://www.slfliberty.org/case/moms-for-liberty-and-young-americas-foundation-et-al-v-u-s-department-of-education/.
Note: These legal filings are submitted periodically and not in real time. Members can contact their chapter chair for additional questions about their child’s school.
It is important to know that individual schools will not be notified by the district court or Moms for Liberty that the DOE can’t enforce its Title IX rewrite against it. It is not known currently if the DOE itself will notify schools or post a list of schools.
Parents can always choose to directly notify a child’s school and/or school district that it is covered by the preliminary injunction by providing it with a copy of the notice Moms for Liberty files with the district court. (The lawsuit’s key legal filings are available at https://www.slfliberty.org/case/moms-for-liberty-and-young-americas-foundation-et-al-v-u-s-department-of-education/.)
If a school board questions whether or not a parent is a Moms for Liberty member, that parent can show the school board their membership confirmation email.
In its preliminary injunction opinion, the district court found the Title IX rewrite violates Moms for Liberty members’ children’s First Amendment rights because it is so vague and overbroad that no one knows how to comply with it.
Even the DOE itself admitted during oral argument that it didn’t know when students could be punished for speaking out against gender ideology or advocating for their safety in private spaces. Instead, the DOE said “let’s wait and see” — but the district court didn’t buy that approach.
If the government itself can’t even say when its rule applies, no one should be forced to comply with it. Moms for Liberty believes this is a huge win for parents across the country and for our American republic.
This is a valid concern shared by many parents across the country. There two important things all parents can and should be doing to stop radical gender ideology from taking hold in their child’s school:
First, read up on the law. Learn more about the Title IX rewrite and why it and policies similar to it are unlawful and unconstitutional by scheduling a webinar for a Moms for Liberty chapter with Southeastern Legal Foundation by emailing [email protected].
Second, educate a local school board on the law by providing it with copies of the preliminary injunction order and the district court’s clarification of the preliminary injunction order in this lawsuit which provides strong legal reasoning and precedent, explaining why these policies are unlawful and unconstitutional.
Links to Lists of Schools Submitted to the District Court
First Notice to DOE of Schools with Plaintiff Organizations’ Members (July 15, 2024)
Second Notice to DOE of Schools with Plaintiff Organizations’ Members (July 26, 2024)
Third Notice to DOE of Schools with Plaintiff Organizations’ Members (July 31, 2024)
Fourth Notice to DOE of Schools with Plaintiff Organizations’ Members (Aug. 28, 2024)
Notice of Corrected List of Schools with Plaintiff Organizations’ Members (Sept. 13, 2024)
Fifth Notice to DOE of Schools with Plaintiff Organizations’ Members (Nov. 12, 2024)
Phone: 321.345.1671 | Email: [email protected] | Media: [email protected]
Copyright 2024
Jamie is a proud wife, mom of three daughters, and photographer. She served as a Moms for Liberty chapter chair in Virginia for 2.5 years and now serves as the M4L Coalitions Coordinator. In this role, Jamie is dedicated to building relationships, fostering collaboration and amplifying organizations fighting to preserve America’s founding principles. Strong relationships create powerful partnerships, and together, we will protect liberty for future generations.
Deborah Flora is an Award-Winning Filmmaker, National Speaker and Parental Rights Advocate. As a Mom, the Founder of Parents United America and the Senior Vice President of Public Policy of ACE Scholarships, she has been on the front line fighting for parental rights and educational freedom nationwide.
Deborah also has an extensive media background including hosting a daily Salem radio show and being featured on numerous national media outlets. As a Partner in Lamplight Entertainment with her husband Jonathan, an 82nd Airborne Veteran, she has also produced numerous projects, including the acclaimed documentary Whose Children Are They? which screened in theaters nationwide exposing the hidden agendas in our public schools.
Deborah is a Club for Growth Fellow, a member of the American Enterprise Leadership Network, the Independence Institute’s Center Right Coalition and serves on the Leadership Program of the Rockies Advisory Council. She has also served on several national boards, overseeing multimillion dollar budgets, including currently as a Board Member for ACE Scholarships and Cantinas Arts Foundation. Deborah earned her degree at SMU as a President and National Merit Scholar and has spoken around the world with organizations like Youth for Christ International including in the former Soviet Union.
Executive Director for Southeastern Legal Foundation
Kimberly Hermann serves as Executive Director for Southeastern Legal Foundation. Since 2009, she has been working with SLF where she has dedicated her legal career to the freedom-based law movement.
Katie Gorka was director of The Feulner Institute’s Center for Civil Society and the American Dialogue at the Heritage Foundation from 2020 to 2022. In 2016, Katie joined the Trump Transition Team and then served as a senior advisor in the Office of Policy at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, where she focused on strategies for prevention of terrorism and targeted violence and combatting use of the internet for terrorism and human trafficking. From June to August 2019, she served as the press secretary for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
As President of the Threat Knowledge Group from 2014 to 2017, Katie provided expertise and training on irregular warfare and terrorism to the FBI, US Army Special Forces, Marine Corps, and law enforcement. From 2009 to 2014, was the Executive Director of the Westminster Institute, which conducted research and education on threats posed by extremist ideologies.
Katie was born in Boston and grew up in various places on the East Coast, from Franconia, New Hampshire, to Asheville, North Carolina. She earned her B.A. in Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her M.Sc. in Politics of the World Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She lived in Budapest, Hungary for twelve years, where she worked on aspects of the post-communist transition, including projects to help rebuild civil society.
Founder of New Discourses
An American-born author, mathematician, and political commentator, Dr. James Lindsay has written six books spanning a range of subjects including religion, the philosophy of science and postmodern theory. Dr. Lindsay is the Founder of New Discourses, an organization dedicated to shining the objective light in the subject darkness. Dr. Lindsay is currently promoting his new book “Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody.” Dr. Lindsay has been a featured guest on Fox News, Glenn Beck, Joe Rogan, and NPR.
Founder & Chairman of OptimaEd
Chair of American First Policy Institute Center for Educations Opportunity
Education expert and entrepreneur Erika Donalds is the Founder and Chairman of OptimaEd and the Chair of America First Policy Institute’s Center for Education Opportunity. Erika is known as a national expert on education policy and school choice and is a frequent media commentator and speaker. A seasoned business executive, she has offered her expertise to help further the expansion of high-quality school choice options and to improve accountability and governance in America’s schools.
Erika is a former elected member of the Collier County School Board and served as a visiting fellow for The Heritage Foundation Center for Education Policy and Guest Faculty for the Leadership Institute’s School Board Programs. She previously sat on Florida’s 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission, Governor DeSantis’ Advisory Committee on Education and Workforce Development, and the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees. She is an advisor for Heritage Foundation Advisory Council on Education Reform, Classical Learning Test, Moms for Liberty, and the Independent Women’s Forum Education Freedom Center.
Prior to launching Optima, Erika spent 20 years in the financial services industry. She was Chief Financial Officer/Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Partner at a multi-billion-dollar investment management firm, responsible for finance, compliance, and operations.
Erika holds a BS in Accounting from Florida State University and a Master of Accountancy from Florida Atlantic University, where she is a Distinguished Alumni Honoree. She is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
Erika and her husband Byron have lived in Naples since 2002 and have three sons – Damon, Darin, & Mason.
National Director of Chapters
Pat Blackburn is a retired educator and mom. She taught in both charter and regular public schools before taking her retirement and devoting her time as a mom and educational advocate. Believing strongly that every citizen should be an active participant in their local government and community, she has dedicated her free time to service. Pat served as President of the Education Foundation in Indian River County, Florida. She also served as Treasurer for Taxpayer Association of Indian River County. She is currently the National Chapter Chair Coordinator for Moms for Liberty. Moms for Liberty is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization. Moms for Liberty is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government. She envisions a public school system in America that is reflective of the principles of freedom granted by our Creator. “God has called me, and equipped me, to do my part in service to Him and our country.”
Director of Information Technology
Keith Wharton has many decades of broad management and hands-on experience in the technology space, with a focus on application implementations. He has also obtained a Master of Science in Computer Science. His breadth of knowledge and experience is a good fit for the broad application and technology footprint that is in use in this organization. He is committed to the principles of limited government and separation of powers that has made this country great, and the organizational principles around the rights of parents to raise and education their children free from the intrusion of government and their surrogates.
Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs
Charlie Misseijer is the national Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs at Moms for Liberty. He is a freedom fighter for truth and from government interference. With a career spanning 25 years in education, law, and public policy, Charlie now works with M4L’s State Legislative Committees, state legislators, and other allies to support, craft, and employ policies that respect and protect the fundamental rights of parents to know what’s best when it comes to their child’s education, care and upbringing, while vociferously and strategically opposing policies and practices that seek to usurp those rights. Married twenty-five years to the love of his life, Tamra, they have eight children and one grandchild.
M4LU Program Director
Missy comes from the business world, with a diverse background in marketing, operations, data analytics, and tech consulting. She is a mom of 3 beautiful girls and wife to an Air Force Loadmaster for the best 22 years of her life. When she’s not on a deep dive into political issues or apologetics, she loves to play the piano, hike very tall mountains, and explore the world through mom-and-pop ice cream shops and local brewpubs. After seeing the spread of concerning ideologies and policy, she took the first step into local politics as the Judge of Elections for her precinct. She has been a proud supporter of M4L since her sister-in-law started their local chapter in Washington County, PA. When M4L was targeted by the SPLC, Missy knew (they/we/M4L) must be on the right track. She is thrilled to join as the new Program Director of M4LU, supporting the team to equip the leaders needed in this current and future generation.
Human Resources & Compliance Manager
Colette’s varied background has prepared her for her roles as Human Resource and Compliance Manager for M4L and M4LF, and Treasurer of her Brevard County, Florida chapter. She managed a literacy program for Utah’s Governor and First Lady (1999-2002), advocating for reading to children statewide. With experience in human services, including advocacy for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, and human resources expertise in soft skills and policy development, Colette works diligently in all she does. Present at the Madison Meetings where Moms for Liberty began, she’s humbled to support this vital grassroots effort and it’s members. Colette is a devoted wife, mother of five, and daughter of God.
Event Manager
After graduating from Penn State University in 1994, Lisa went to work for ARAMARK Corporation for eight years. She began her career with ARAMARK as a National Trainer, working all over the US instructing end-users on their proprietary software. In 1999, she became the assistant CFO for the Southeastern region of ARAMARK. After the birth of her second child, Lisa decided to take on the most challenging role of her life, Stay- at-Home Mom. In 2015, Lisa became involved with the South Brevard Debutantes and quickly went through the chairs of involvement, ultimately becoming the Vice President. She worked with over 300 juniors/seniors, during her nine years of involvement with the organization, putting them through the 15-month leadership program. Her favorite part of the program was hosting the annual debutante balls, which yields groups of 300 plus attendees. She now serves as a board member to the Debs & Gents of South Brevard. In 2023, Lisa became the Event Coordinator for Moms for Liberty and enjoys the management process of pulling together large events for the organization. Lisa is married to Sean for the last 28 years and they have three children, Lauren, Matthew and Brycen.
Political Director
Erika is married to husband Matt, and they have two young adult children. Erika co-founded the Moms for Liberty – Johnson County, KS chapter in August of 2021 and served as Vice Chair until moving to Chapter Chair in November 2024. Erika is responsible for leading our 320+ chapters in identifying, vetting & endorsing candidates for their local school boards and supporting them in their efforts to help their candidates win. When parents win, their children win!
Co-founder and Executive Director
Tina Descovich has a long record of fighting for students and parental rights in Florida, and at the national level. She was elected to the Brevard County, FL school board in 2016. She was selected by her peers to serve as Chairman in 2018. While on the school board she was a member of The Florida Coalition of School Board Members and served as the organization’s president in 2018.
As a graduate of Valdosta State University with bachelor’s degree in communication, Tina worked as a consultant on projects ranging from helping fast growing startup companies, to creating and implementing strategic and communication plans. She served on the executive planning team for the National Air, Space and Sea Foundation planning airshows and on the executive staff for the United States Army Commanding General of the Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee.
In 2021, Tina co-founded Moms for Liberty, a grassroots national non-profit organization that works to unify, educate, and empower parents to defend their parental rights, which has grown to over 300 chapters in 48 states with over 130,000 members and she currently serves as the organization’s Executive Director. In September of 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Tina to the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Tina has been a frequent guest on all major cable news stations, talk radio, leading podcasts, and penned opinion pieces in some of America’s largest newspapers. These appearances include Fox, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CSPAN, The Glenn Beck Show, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Newsmax, and on CBS Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes. In November of 2023 she and her co-founder were awarded Fox News’ “Most Valuable Patriot” Award.
Tina and her husband Derek have five children. She is passionate about America and is dedicated to protecting liberty and freedom for the future of all children.
State Representative for Florida House District 33.
Monique has traveled to over fifty countries and has lived and worked in socialist countries. That experience made her appreciate even more what makes America great and unique: Our founding documents and a true understanding that our rights are derived from God, rather than government.
Monique Miller has enjoyed a distinguished career in the computer and cybersecurity industry for over twenty-five years. She has held strategic roles in iconic companies such as Hewlett Packard and now consults federal and state governments on securing our 911 and emergency communications systems against cyber-attacks.
Monique’s love of her two children and three grandchildren led her to become an activist in the fight for parental rights in education.
Monique earned a Master of Business Administration from Emory University and studied physics as an undergraduate at Loyola University in New Orleans. She and her husband volunteer at their church.
In her free time, Monique enjoys scuba diving and supporting Florida Giant Dog Rescue.
Director of Outreach
Catalina is a successful mother of four, rooted in her love of God and family. She is always advocating for the wellbeing of children. She has been featured on Fox & Friends with Kayleigh McEnany, War Room with Steve Bannon, Linea De Fuego (Univision) and more. She is a Colombian American businesswoman, journalist, philanthropist, strategy adviser, contributor and commentator, and humble servant to the Lord.
National Director of Chapters
Pat is a retired educator and mom. She envisions a public school system in America that is reflective of the principles of freedom granted by our Creator. “God has called me, and equipped me, to do my part in service to Him and our country.”
Director of Development
Rosalind is the Mom to a joyful son, and like most parents, the pandemic afforded her a peek behind the classroom door. As Moms for Liberty’s Director of Development, Rosalind ensures our donors are kept up to date on our work, which is made possible by their generous financial support and the efforts of our over 130,000 volunteer members.
Director of National Engagement
Tia is a mom of three with a blended family. Bess resides with her partner on a farm in Clay County, FL. She has been a member of Moms for Liberty since March 2021 when the pandemic led her to voice concerns regarding her children’s school in her district. Bess was born in Philadelphia, PA but left for Norfolk, VA at the age of seven due to gang violence in the area. Shortly after the move to Virginia, her family moved to Jacksonville, FL where she learned that her zip code didn’t define her, a message she hopes to spread to America.