U.S. Department of Education Finds California in Violation of Title IX for Allowing Transgender Students to Participate in Athletics Consistent with Their Gender Identity under California Law

07.02.2025

On June 25, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the U.S. Department of Education (“USDOE”) announced the conclusion of its Title IX investigations into the California Department of Education (“CDE”) and the California Interscholastic Federation (“CIF”), finding both entities violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) by discriminating against women and girls on the basis of sex. Specifically, OCR concluded that the CDE and CIF violated Title IX by adhering to a state antidiscrimination law that conflicts with the OCR’s interpretation of protections afforded under Title IX.

With respect to elementary and secondary schools, Section 221.5 of the California Code specifically provides, “A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”[1]

Brief Background

OCR’s announcement follows several actions taken both at the federal and state levels of government involving the participation of transgender student-athletes in interscholastic sports based on their gender identity.

On February 5, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14201 (“Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”), which seeks to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in female competitive sports because it conflicts with Title IX. [2] In response, CIF publicly announced its intention to adhere to California law as recognized in CIF Bylaw 300.D, which permits students to participate in school programs and activities consistent with their gender identity.^[3] Subsequently, on February 12, 2025, OCR announced an investigation into CIF. Additionally, on April 4, 2025, the federal government’s newly-established Title IX Special Investigations Team (an inter-agency team from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and USDOE) announced its first investigation into the CDE.

OCR Announces Finding of Title IX Violation Against CDE and CIF

On June 25, 2025, OCR announced the conclusion of its investigations of the CDE and CIF, finding that both entities “are in clear violation of Title IX.”

OCR has issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to CDE and CIF to address their claimed Title IX violations by voluntarily complying with six new action items within ten days or “risk imminent enforcement action, including referral to the [DOJ] for proceedings.” Under the proposed Resolution Agreement and among other requirements, the CDE would be required to “issue a Notice to all recipients of federal funding . . . that operate interscholastic athletic programs in California requiring them to comply with Title IX,” as interpreted by OCR and, accordingly, not permit transgender females to participate in female sports or occupy “female intimate facilities.” CDE and CIF would be required to “rescind any guidance that advised local school districts or CIF members to permit [transgender female athletes] to participate in women’s and girls’ sports.”

As of the date of this Alert, neither CDE nor CIF has issued a response to the proposed Resolution Agreement.*

California’s Pending Lawsuit Against USDOE Regarding CIF Bylaw 300.D

On June 2, 2025, the DOJ sent a letter to all California local educational agencies (“LEAs”) demanding that they certify that they would not implement CIF Bylaw 300.D or run the risk of exposing themselves to legal liability (“Demand Letter”). On June 3, 2025, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond (“Superintendent Thurmond”) issued a response to the DOJ, in which he asserted that the Demand Letter did not “announce any new federal law,” and that California “will continue to follow the law and ensure the safety of all athletes.” On the same day, Superintendent Thurmond also issued a letter[4] to County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators in which he provided an update regarding compliance with the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution (“Equal Protection Clause”) and further explained that “[t]he DOJ assertions are not themselves law, and the letter by itself cannot be an enforcement mechanism.”

On June 9, 2025, the CDE’s Office of the General Counsel replied via e-mail correspondence[5] to the DOJ on behalf of the LEAs, in which it affirmed, in part, that California and its LEAs would continue to adhere to the CIF policy, which it asserted are consistent with both California law and the Equal Protection Clause. The same day, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a pre-enforcement lawsuit against the DOJ in anticipation of imminent legal retaliation for refusal to comply with the Demand Letter. The State requested declaratory and injunctive relief from the Demand Letter, stating the DOJ “create[ed] an imminent risk of irreparable harm to California’s proprietary, sovereign, and quasi-sovereign interests” by demanding compliance with what they view as “unlawful demands.” In the filing, California asserts that adhering to the requirements of the Demand Letter “would require California and its LEAs to discriminate against transgender girls in K-12 sports by categorically excluding them from girls’ sports . . . and would therefore violate both the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and section 221.5(f) of the California Education Code.”

AALRR attorneys are continuing to monitor Title IX and civil rights compliance investigations conducted by OCR and DOJ and related litigation and will continue to provide updates as warranted. If you have questions about your educational agency’s obligations under Title IX and California law, or about the contents of this Alert, please contact the authors of this Alert or your usual AALRR counsel.

Special thanks to law clerk Grace Brandt for her work on this Alert.