The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined that California’s policies discriminate against female athletes, violating Title IX.
California public schools will lose $1 billion in federal funds for the coming school year as the Trump administration accused the state of violating Title IX by allowing transgender athletes in girls’ sports.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
The estimated loss, based on previous years, was included in a California Department of Education statement on July 1 in which state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and other leaders alleged “egregious federal overreach” and demanded the money be restored.
“We’re told by [President Donald] Trump’s Department of Education that they are withholding critical school funding that isn’t in ‘accordance with the President’s priorities,’” Thurmond said in a statement on June 30.
“The administration is punishing children when states refuse to cater to Trump’s political ideology. This illegal action will harm students starting now.”
On June 25, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concluded that California’s policies permitting male athletes identifying as transgender to participate in girls’ sports discriminate against female athletes, violating Title IX. The decision follows an investigation launched in February after the president issued an executive order to ban athletes who identify as transgender from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
The California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation were given 10 days to agree to change their policies to comply with Title IX or face consequences, including funding cuts, according to the OCR.
The federal government said the state actively prevented equality of opportunity and failed to protect female athletes from unfair competition and unsafe situations by allowing males in sports designed for women and in intimate spaces.
“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,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement on June 25. “The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.”
