San Jose State and Penn face inquiries in Trump crackdown on transgender athletes
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is investigating potential civil rights violations at two universities and a high school sports league that allowed transgender athletes to compete on women's teams, the Education Department said Thursday.
The agency is opening reviews of San Jose State University volleyball, the University of Pennsylvania's swimming program and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
It comes a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. The order calls for penalties against schools and leagues, saying competing against transgender athletes deprives female students of equality.
“The previous administration trampled the rights of American women and girls — and ignored the indignities to which they were subjected in bathrooms and locker rooms — to promote a radical transgender ideology,” said Craig Trainor, the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The Education Department said it proactively opened the new cases over suspected violation of Title IX, a 1972 law barring sex discrimination in education. Opening an inquiry isn't meant to indicate a finding of wrongdoing, according to department policy. Additionally, the agency said it is reviewing athletics policies at a number of other schools.
It reflects the Education Department's shift in civil rights priorities as it aligns with Trump's agenda to target antisemitism and gender identity issues. The investigations also build on Trump’s anti-transgendercampaign rhetoric, which pledged to end “transgender insanity.”
Advocates for transgender students condemned the executive order Trump signed Wednesday.
“Contrary to what the president wants you to believe, trans students do not pose threats to sports, schools or this country, and they deserve the same opportunities as their peers to learn, play and grow up in safe environments,” said Fatima Goss Graves, CEO of the National Women’s Law Center.
Trump's executive order also prompted the NCAA to change its participation policy on Thursday, limiting competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth only.
It's unusual for the Education Department to investigate past violations of new policy, or to investigate without first receiving a complaint. San Jose State is being scrutinized over a player's participation on the women's volleyball team. A lawsuit filed by players against the Mountain West Conference argued letting her compete poses a safety risk, but San Jose State has not confirmed it has a transgender woman volleyball player. The team's season ended Nov. 30.
University president Cynthia Teniente-Matson said San Jose State will fully engage with the investigation and comply with the law as it continues to “act within our authority to uphold the values that define us as an institution.”
The investigation at Penn focuses on Lia Thomas, who swam on the school’s women’s team and was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title in 2022. Thomas graduated that year. Penn did not immediately provide comment.
According to the Education Department, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association allowed a transgender athlete to compete on a girls' high school basketball team, prompting an opposing team to forfeit after three players were reportedly injured. The department did not identify the schools or give further details.
Athletic associations typically don't receive federal money from the Education Department, and it was not immediately clear what authority the agency had to investigate the Massachusetts league.
The department is taking exception with a policy in the association's handbook saying students “shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity.”
The league invoked that policy last year after a girls' basketball team in Lowell forfeited a game against a team with a transgender athlete. Three players were reportedly injured during the game, and the team was already down four to begin with, according to local media reports.
The MIAA said it has historically complied with federal and state laws and is seeking legal guidance on its next steps. “We are especially interested in determining this investigation’s impact on teams currently playing the winter season and on our upcoming tournaments,” the association said in a statement.
Lawyers who advise schools on Title IX say the Trump administration is taking an unusually aggressive approach by initiating its own investigations. Bonnie Young, a partner at Fox Rothschild, said such investigations typically aren't publicized until they're concluded.
“The enforcement landscape is changing rapidly with the new Administration and the flurry of executive orders,” Young said in an email. “Each day reveals new and bolder enforcement actions to bring public and private entities into compliance with the Administration’s objectives.”
Title IX has been at the center of a political tug-of-war in recent years. Under former President Joe Biden, new federal rules expanded the law to protect transgender and LGBTQ+ students. A federal judge overturned Biden's rules this year, calling them an overstep.
The Trump administration has been using Title IX to push against schools that provide accommodations for transgender students. Last month the Education Department opened another investigation into Denver public schools after an all-gender restroom replaced a girl's restroom while leaving another exclusive to boys.
In his order, Trump directed federal agencies to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.” The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights can move to cut federal money for institutions that violate civil rights, but only if it's approved by a judge and if the office fails to negotiate a resolution.
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