California violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes on girls’ teams, Trump administration says
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California violated Title IX by allowing trans athletes on girls’ teams, Trump administration says
The federal government says California violated Title IX. It wants the state to bar transgender women from women’s sports. If California rejects the proposal, the federal government could terminate its funding. It is the latest in a series of federal investigations into transgender athletes in California and elsewhere in the U.S. The Obama administration tried to expand Title IX, but it was struck down by a federal judge in January. It also launched an investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation, which allows transgender athletes to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity. The state has 10 days to come into compliance or risk federal enforcement action, the government says. It says schools must adopt a definition of ‘male’ and ‘female’
The federal education department announced the finding Wednesday and proposed a resolution that would require California to bar transgender women from women’s sports and strip transgender athletes of records, titles and awards. It’s the latest escalation in the Republican administration’s effort to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports teams nationwide.
If California rejects the proposal, the education department could move to terminate the state’s federal education funding.
“The Trump administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law,” Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said. “The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.
Title IX is a 1972 law forbidding sex discrimination in education.
California education and sports officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Federal officials opened an investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation in February after the organization said it would abide by a state law allowing athletes to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity. That followed an executive order signed by Donald Trump that was intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports.
In April, McMahon’s department opened an investigation into the California department of education over the same issue.
Both investigations concluded that state policies violated Title IX. The administration has been invoking the law in its campaign against transgender athletes, launching scores of investigations into schools, colleges and states. It’s a reversal from the Joe Biden administration, which attempted to expand Title IX to provide protections for transgender students. A federal judge struck down the expansion before Trump took office in January.
The administration’s proposed resolution would require California to notify schools that transgender athletes should be barred from girls athletic teams and that all schools must “adopt biology-based definitions of the words ‘male’ and ‘female’”. The state would also have to notify schools that any conflicting interpretation of state law would be considered a violation of Title IX.
Athletes who lost awards, titles or records to transgender athletes would have their honors restored under the proposal, and the state would be required to send personal apology letters to those athletes.
A similar resolution was offered to Maine’s education agency in a separate clash with the administration over transgender athletes. Maine rejected the proposal in April, prompting a justice department lawsuit seeking to terminate the state’s federal education funding.
Under federal guidelines, California’s education office and the sports federation have 10 days to come into compliance or risk enforcement action.
The federation separately tested a pilot policy at a state track meet in May, allowing one extra competitor in three events featuring high school junior AB Hernandez, who is trans. The organization announced the change after Trump took to social medial to criticize Hernandez’s participation. The justice department said it would investigate Hernandez’s district and the state to determine if Title IX was being violated.
Feds say state violated law by allowing trans athletes in girls sports
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announces an investigation into California’s compliance with Title IX. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires schools to guarantee equal opportunities for girls in sports and other school activities. California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. Only about 10 transgender athletes compete among 510,000 NCAA student-athletes in California, officials say. The department planned to notify all recipients of federal funding with interscholastic athletic programs in California that they must adopt biology-based definitions of the words “male’ and “female” and apologize to female athletes for misappropriating their titles and awards. The proposal offers both entities a chance to voluntarily agree to change their practices within 10 days or risk imminent enforcement action, including referral to the Department of Justice.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Education has found that California violated Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological females, officials said Wednesday.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires schools to guarantee equal opportunities for girls in sports and other school activities.
“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
“The Trump administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law. The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow,” McMahon said.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Izzy Gardon, director of communications for Newsom, said in a statement, “It wouldn’t be a day ending in ‘Y’ without the Trump administration threatening to defund California. Now Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won’t stick.”
The governor’s office also noted that California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. California’s Assembly Bill 1266 was enacted in 2013 during Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.
State officials added that only about 10 transgender athletes compete among 510,000 NCAA student-athletes, and in California’s 5.8 million-student K-12 public schools, the number of active transgender student-athletes is estimated to be in the single digits
Scott Roark, a spokesman for the California Department of Education, said in a statement, “The California Department of Education believes all students should have the opportunity to learn and play at school, and we have consistently applied existing law in support of students’ rights to do so.”
A spokeswoman for CIF said the organization does not comment on legal matters.
The federal Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights has issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to the California Department of Education and CIF to resolve the Title IX violations. The proposal offering both entities a chance to voluntarily agree to change their practices within 10 days or risk imminent enforcement action, including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The department planned to notify all recipients of federal funding with interscholastic athletic programs in California that to comply with Title IX, recipients must adopt biology-based definitions of the words “male” and “female.”
Federal officials also will require funding recipients to “restore to female athletes all individual records, titles, and awards misappropriated by male athletes competing in female competitions” and to “send a personalized letter apologizing on behalf of the state of California for allowing her educational experience to be marred by sex discrimination.”
In February after President Donald Trump signed the Protecting Women’s Sports Executive Order, the CIF announced it would abide by state law, which allows athletes to participate on teams based on an individual’s gender identity rather than their biological sex.
In May, AB Hernandez, a transgender student athlete for Jurupa Valley High School in Riverside County, won first place in the girls high jump and triple jump at the state championship in Clovis.
Updated June 25, 2025, 1:05 p.m.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/25/california-title-ix-violation-trump-administration