Education department rescinds Title IX resolution agreements

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Monday rescinded portions of multiple resolution agreements, alleging that previous administrations expanded the interpretation of Title IX.

The OCR uses resolution agreements to require schools to take corrective action when they are found to be in violation of federal civil rights laws. According to the department, prior administrations expanded Title IX beyond its statutory basis by applying it to gender identity rather than biological sex.

Officials said those interpretations led to enforcement actions against school districts for conduct such as the use of pronouns or inquiries about a student’s gender identity.

The department now says such actions do not constitute violations of Title IX, which it maintains is limited to discrimination based on sex.

“The Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.

Richey added that the Trump administration is dedicated to investigating transgender athletes in sports and keeping female students protected.

The OCR is rescinding six agreements involving Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, Delaware Valley School District, Fife School District in Washington state, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District in California, Sacramento City Unified and Taft College in California.

The department said it will no longer monitor or enforce provisions it considers unsupported by law.

This follows a January 2025 federal court decision that struck down the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX rule, which had expanded protections to include gender identity.

Title IX is a 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs or activities receiving federal funding.