The Trump Administration has launched a Title IX investigation focusing on transgender athletes. A new Title IX Special Investigations Team is being established to prevent transgender women and girls from participating in sports teams and using facilities designated for females. The Departments of Education and Justice announced this initiative to safeguard students, particularly female athletes, from the perceived negative effects of gender ideology in school programs. This team aims to streamline investigations into the high number of Title IX complaints that have been filed.
Title IX is a civil rights law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational programs. The participation of transgender women in women’s sports has become a contentious issue in recent years, with over half of U.S. states implementing measures to restrict trans students’ participation in sports. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in female sports.
The Title IX Special Investigations Team will comprise investigators and attorneys from the Department of Education and the Department of Justice. Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized the collaborative effort to protect women’s sports and spaces from threats and to enforce women’s civil rights using the full extent of the law. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, a former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, warned entities allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports that there is a new approach in place.
Critics, including LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, have denounced the creation of the team as a baseless plan that could waste taxpayer resources in pursuit of an agenda driven by animosity. GLAAD argued that targeting transgender athletes does not protect women and girls and could lead to invasive examinations and costly verification processes. While the exact number of transgender student athletes is unknown, NCAA President Charlie Baker mentioned fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identify as transgender during a December congressional hearing.
In March, the Trump administration withheld $175 million in funding from the University of Pennsylvania over its transgender athlete policies, despite the school’s assurance of compliance with NCAA and Ivy League regulations.
