The U.S. Department of Educationโs Office for Civil Rights determined that Californiaโs 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 girlsโ 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 โegregious federal overreachโ and demanded the money be restored.
โWeโre told by [President Donald] Trumpโs Department of Education that they are withholding critical school funding that isnโt in โaccordance with the Presidentโs priorities,โโ Thurmond said in a statement on June 30.
โThe administration is punishing children when states refuse to cater to Trumpโs political ideology. This illegal action will harm students starting now.โ
On June 25, the U.S. Department of Educationโs Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concluded that Californiaโs policies permitting male athletes identifying as transgender to participate in girlsโ 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 girlsโ and womenโs 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.
โThe 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,โ U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement on June 25. โThe state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.โ