A federal court late Sunday night barred the Obama administration from enforcing a broad set of guidelines instructing states and localities on how to accommodate transgender students attending public schools ― including their need to use restrooms that align with their gender identity.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, of the Northern District of Texas, enjoined the policies nationally and blocked the federal government from conducting any litigation or attempting to bring school districts in compliance with them.

The guidelines, released jointly by the Departments of Justice and Education in May, were an effort to extend existing civil rights protections to transgender students, who often face barriers locally that stigmatize them, including harassment by classmates or incorrect record-keeping by school administrators.

“Taken together, we hope these new resources provide clarity for everyone ― from state and local leaders to educators to students and families ― about how to create a safe, welcoming and supportive learning environment for every student,” Vanita Gupta and Catherine Lhamon, the civil rights heads at DOJ and DOE who addressed the guidelines to school districts nationwide, said at the time. 

But weeks after the move, Texas led a group of 13 states in suing the federal government to stop its implementation, arguing that the Obama administration was overstepping its authority under Title IX, one of a number of anti-discrimination statutes that courts and the government have read to cover gender identity discrimination.

“These new mandates, putting the federal government in the unprecedented position of policing public school property and facilities ... run roughshod over clear lines of authority, local policies, and unambiguous federal law,” the states said in a July motion seeking a nationwide injunction against the federal guidance.

O’Connor’s ruling agreeing to the injunction is meant to ease fears that the guidance would disrupt the coming school year in Texas, which kicked off Monday.