Schools that fail to comply will face investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and could lose federal funding.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday calling for the end of men playing in women’s sports.
The “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order is aimed at upholding federal Title IX rules—established in 1972 to set a level playing field for women’s athletics programs.
It will put a stop to “dangerous and unfair” situations where males compete against females in school and amateur athletics, according to a White House official.
“All of that ends today because with this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said while signing the order surrounded by dozens of young female athletes. “From now, women’s sports will be only for women.”
The new guidelines are intended to “preserve the rights and dignity for women, opportunities for young girls.”
The president said his administration is removing “woke lunacy” and a “militant transgender ideology” that has placed female athletes in harm’s way “on the front lines.”
“The actions we’re taking today are the latest in a sweeping effort to reclaim our culture and our laws from the radical left crusade against biological reality,” Trump said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to recent polls that show widespread support for keeping men out of women’s sports, even among Democrats.
“This was a wildly popular position with the American people,” she said during a press briefing on Feb. 5.
Trump is demanding that women be provided equal opportunities in terms of safety, fairness, and privacy. His order points to the benefits of athletics for young girls, including higher self-esteem and fewer instances of drug use, obesity, and teenage pregnancy.
Across the nation, the rules apply to K–12 schools and universities that receive federal funding.
Schools that fail to comply will face investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and could lose federal funding, according to the new order.
Denver East High School is one such school, the White House official said. Investigators are looking into decisions it made to eliminate some women’s restrooms and turn them into coed spaces.
Funds provided through Title IX are dependent on a school’s commitment to preventing discrimination based on sex, among other things.
The Trump administration says it is working with sporting bodies, including a host of associations and organizations, to collectively identify ways to protect women.
