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The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights said Wednesday it has opened investigations into 18 educational institutions over policies that allow biological men to compete in women’s sports.
The department said it is examining whether the policies violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The investigations involve K-12 school districts and colleges in 10 states, including California, Pennsylvania and New York.
The announcement comes the same week the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging state bans on transgender athletes competing in female sports. A ruling is expected this summer and could affect laws enacted in 27 states.
“Time and again, the Trump Administration has made its position clear: violations of women’s rights, dignity, and fairness are unacceptable,” Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement.
“We will leave no stone unturned in these investigations to uphold women’s right to equal access in education programs, a fight that started over half a century ago and is far from finished,” she added.
Among the institutions under investigation are the Jurupa and Placentia-Yorba Linda unified school districts in California, Santa Monica College and Santa Rosa Junior College. The department is also reviewing policies at Waterbury Public Schools in Connecticut, the Hawaii Department of Education, two regional school units in Maine and the University of Nevada, Reno.
Additional investigations involve four educational entities in Washington state, two in New York, and one institution each in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
Education Department officials said the investigations will determine whether the schools’ athletic policies deny female students equal opportunities under federal law.
“How tragic that women are still fighting for their right to have equal access and equal opportunity in athletics programs,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said on the steps of the Supreme Court ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.
“I remember our fight as women to secure equal educational opportunities under Title IX over 50 years ago. In 2020, President Trump’s Department of Education continued that fight and made it clear that Title IX, which protects against discrimination on the basis of sex in education, is rooted in biological reality,” she added.