The U.S. Department of Education announced on April 6 that it has terminated agreements with five school districts and a college that were aimed at protecting transgender students under Title IX. The agreements, reached under the Obama and Biden administrations, required schools to comply with federal civil rights laws as they pertain to gender identity.
The affected districts include Cape Henlopen in Delaware, Fife in Washington, Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania, La Mesa-Spring Valley in California, and Sacramento City Unified in California. Taft College in California was also included. The Trump administration argued that previous interpretations of Title IX had expanded the law beyond its original intent of prohibiting sex discrimination to include gender identity.
The Education Department stated that the agreements imposed 'illegal and burdensome enforcement' on schools, forcing them to adopt policies that aligned with the previous administrations' interpretations. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the move was part of the administration's commitment to 'uphold the law, protect our students, and restore common sense.'
The Trump administration has taken other steps to limit transgender student rights, including lawsuits against California and Minnesota over policies allowing transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports. The administration has also opened civil rights investigations into schools and universities over their policies on transgender students.
Under the Obama and Biden administrations, Title IX was interpreted to include protections for transgender and gay students. The Trump administration has sought to reverse these interpretations, arguing that the law should focus solely on sex discrimination.