Education dept. launches 18 Title IX probes as Supreme Court hears cases

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(The Center Square) –  The Trump administration has launched a series of investigations into various public schools and state departments of education across the country over Title IX allegations related to the participation of transgender athletes in girls' sports.

The investigation led by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights coincides with the U.S. Supreme Court beginning oral arguments on transgender sports cases. 

The core of the complaints asserts that these K-12 districts and state agencies maintain policies that discriminate based on sex. By permitting transgender students to participate in sports, the Department argues that these institutions are violating Title IX protections.

According to the Department of Education, these policies jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities, the Department said. 

“In the same week that the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the future of Title IX, OCR is aggressively pursuing allegations of discrimination against women and girls by entities which reportedly allow males to compete in women’s sports,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said. 

"We are currently reviewing the letter and will respond appropriately through the proper legal and administrative channels,” the University of Nevada, Reno, one of the schools under investigation, told Fox News. "The University remains committed to fostering an inclusive, supportive, and respectful campus environment for all of our students. We recognize and uphold our responsibilities under state and federal law, and we will continue to act in accordance with the U.S. and Nevada Constitutions.”

The department has also announced this week an investigation into the California Community College Athletic Association over its Transgender Participation Policy, which allows transgender females to compete on women’s teams after one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment. 

Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education, said during a webinar that allowing transgender athletes to compete in female sports has done violence toward women's equality. 

“[Title IX] a federal statute, only 37 words long, something that was really the crown jewel of the women's liberation movement in the '60s and early '70s. To expand it to transgender status and gender identity did a significant amount of violence to the notion of women's equality, not just within athletic contexts, but within all sex-separated offerings,” Perry said.

The following entities are currently under investigation:

• Jurupa School District (California).

• Placentia-Yorba School District (California).

• Santa Monica College (California).

• Santa Rosa Junior College (California).

• Waterbury Public Schools (Connecticut).

• Hawaii State Department of Education (Hawaii).

• Regional School Unit 19 (Maine).

• Regional School Unit 57 (Maine)

• Foxborough Public Schools (Massachusetts).

• University of Nevada – Reno (Nevada).

• Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District (New York).

• New York City Department of Education (New York).

• Great Valley School District (Pennsylvania).

• Champlain Valley School District (Vermont).

• Cheney Public Schools (Washington).

• Sultan School District No. 311 (Washington).

• Tacoma Public Schools (Washington).

• Vancouver Public Schools (Washington).