Rejecting arguments by Florida and three other states, a federal judge in Alabama on Tuesday refused to grant a preliminary injunction against a new federal rule about sex-based discrimination in education programs.

U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon issued a 122-page decision that rejected a request by Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and four other plaintiffs to block the rule. The states and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in April, alleging, in part, that the Biden administration overstepped its legal authority in extending Title IX regulations to apply to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.