The U.S. Department of Education this week announced it has opened formal investigations into 18 educational entities — ranging from local school districts to colleges and state education departments — alleging violations of the federal Title IX law by permitting students to participate in sex-segregated sports based on “gender identity.”
According to a press release from the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), complaints filed with the agency claim that these institutions maintain policies that allow biological males to compete in female sports, thereby “discriminating on the basis of sex.” OCR said it has initiated probes into the listed entities following those complaints.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey emphasized that the investigations come at a pivotal moment — coinciding with U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments this week on cases concerning whether biological men should be permitted to compete in women’s sports under Title IX. Richey stated the department is committed to upholding what it defines as women’s rights and fairness in education programs.
Among the educational systems under review are:
- K-12 school districts in California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington.
- Postsecondary institutions such as Santa Monica College, Santa Rosa Junior College, and the University of Nevada – Reno.
- Large systems including the New York City Department of Education and several state education departments.
Federal officials contend that allowing participation in sports based on a student’s subjective “gender identity” undermines the original purpose of Title IX — a law passed to ensure equal opportunity in education based on biological sex. The Biden–Trump Department, however, is interpreting the statute to prioritize gender identity protections.
Critics, including many parents and conservative lawmakers, argue that this enforcement approach politicizes Title IX and threatens opportunities for girls and women in sports. Leading voices in the movement to protect girls’ athletic programs have long maintained that sex-based distinctions reflect God-given biological reality and safeguard fairness and safety in competition. This latest federal action is seen by many traditional-values advocates as a continuation of administrative overreach into local education policy decisions.
Several of the districts now under investigation have already been publicly named in the broader reporting on this initiative. For example, Waterbury Public Schools in Connecticut and multiple districts in Washington state are included in the federal reviews, specifically tied to their athletic participation rules.
Conservative commentators also note that this multi-state investigation comes amid ongoing legal battles over how Title IX should be applied across public schools and universities — including implications for policies on bathrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-segregated activities. They warn that redefining sex on the basis of internal “gender identity,” rather than biological reality as created by God, could erode fundamental protections the law was designed to guarantee.
As these investigations proceed, the Department of Education may require corrective actions or threaten the loss of federal funding for institutions found to be in violation. For families and students who have chosen schools that honor biological sex distinctions in compliance with both Scripture and long-standing law, these federal interventions raise serious concerns about local control and parental rights in education.
