Administration Axes Protections for Transgender Students

The Education Department announced Monday that it is canceling several civil rights agreements that required schools to take specific steps to protect transgender students, saying those deals were unlawful. The move reflects the administration's position that the federal ban on sex discrimination in education, Title IX, does not cover discrimination based on gender identity, the Washington Post reports, as previous administrations contended. Transgender rights advocates said the action signals reduced federal protection for trans students.

The settlements being voided are with Taft College in California and five K-12 districts: Cape Henlopen (Delaware), Delaware Valley (Pennsylvania), Fife (Washington), La Mesa-Spring Valley (California), and Sacramento City Unified (California). "Today, 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," Kimberly Richey, the department's assistant secretary for civil rights, said in the release. Richey also said the action reflects the administration's goals of keeping transgender students from participating in girls' and women's sports and accessing shared locker rooms, per the AP.

Some of the rescinded deals required broad policy changes. A 2023 agreement with Taft College followed a complaint from a student who transitioned while enrolled; investigators examined whether staff misused her name and pronouns and tolerated derogatory remarks. Taft agreed to update its harassment policy to state that repeatedly refusing to use a student's chosen name and pronouns could amount to sex-based harassment. A 2015 settlement with Delaware Valley School District required a consultant on discrimination against transgender youth, explicit protections for gender identity in policy, and staff training, per the Post. "This isn't a restoration of 'common sense.' It is bullying, harassment, and exclusion," said Sydney Duncan of Advocates for Trans Equity.