Critics have focused on a provision that would let students use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities.

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 anti-discrimination protections to transgender students.

The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Biden administration from enforcing parts of a major regulation on sex discrimination in education that is embroiled in litigation over its protections for transgender students.

The Supreme Court blocked new sex discrimination regulations from taking effect in multiple states in a narrow vote Friday, according to multiple outlets, denying a request from the Biden administration that sought to expand protections for transgender students at the federal level.

The Supreme Court denied the application of President Joe Biden's new Title IX sex discrimination and education regulations in states where courts blocked them in a 5-4 decision Friday. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the three progressives on the court in dissenting.