Education Department says Penn violated Title IX over trans athlete policy
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The U.S. Department of Education says the University of Pennsylvania violated federal civil rights law by allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on its women's team during the 2021-22 season.
The big picture: The Trump administration recently paused $175 million in federal funding to Penn over the university's transgender athlete policies.
- Now the Ivy League school faces an ultimatum: comply with the investigation's resolution agreement or risk losing the university's federal funds.
State of play: The department's Office for Civil Rights announced Monday that Penn's transgender athlete policies violated Title IX "by denying women equal opportunities by permitting males to compete in women's intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities."
- The Department of Education initiated the Title IX investigation against Penn in early February over Thomas' participation on the women's swim team.
- Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA D1 Championship in 2022. She also graduated that year.
What they're saying: Acting assistant secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor suggested in a statement that if the university fails to come into compliance, it "puts UPenn's federal funding at risk."
The other side: Penn declined Axios' request for comment.
- Penn president J. Larry Jameson said last month in a statement that the university was in full compliance with NCAA rules and Title IX policies in place at the time Thomas competed.
Zoom in: As part of the department's proposed resolution agreement, Penn must take the following actions in the next 10 days or "risk a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for enforcement proceedings":
- Restore all Division I swimming competition athletic records, titles, honors and the like to female athletes that the Education Department says were "misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories."
- Issue a statement to the university community that it will comply with Title IX in all of its athletic programs.
- Send a letter of apology to "each female athlete whose individual recognition is restored" for "allowing her educational experience in athletics to be marred by sex discrimination."
Zoom out: This is the latest salvo from the Trump administration targeting trans athletes in school sports.
- In February, Trump signed an executive order denying federal funds to schools that allow transgender women or girls to play in sports corresponding with their gender identity.
Go deeper: All of the anti-trans executive orders Trump has signed