U.S. Department of Education Rescinds Illegal Title IX Resolution Agreements

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department)'s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) rescinded provisions of resolution agreements from prior Administrations, freeing schools from their illegal and burdensome enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).

Resolution agreements are used by OCR to require schools to take specific actions to resolve noncompliance with federal civil rights law. Previous Administrations distorted the law contrary to its plain meaning to police discrimination on the basis of 'gender identity,' not sex, and imposed resolution agreements with no legal foundation, but rather, based on an ideologically-driven interpretation of Title IX. They illegally saddled school districts with Title IX violations for actions such as "improper use of preferred pronouns" or "asking questions about a student's preferred 'gender.'"

Title IX protections are based on sex, therefore, these districts are not in violation of the law and are freed from these terms of the resolution agreements.

"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. While previous Administrations launched Title IX investigations based on 'misgendering,' the Trump Administration is investigating allegations of girls and women being injured by men on their sports team or feeling violated by men in their intimate spaces," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. "Today is yet another demonstration of the Trump Administration's commitment to uphold the law, protect our students, and restore common sense. No longer will the federal government force educational institutions to violate the law or punish them for upholding it."

OCR is rescinding portions of six resolution agreements that were reached through the illegal, heavy-handed manipulation of Title IX. The Department will therefore no longer monitor or enforce these agreements reached with:

• Cape Henlopen School District;
• Delaware Valley School District;
• Fife School District;
• La Mesa-Spring Valley School District;
• Sacramento City Unified; and
• Taft College

Background

The Biden Administration's 2024 Title IX rule impermissibly expanded the scope of Title IX to enforce discrimination based on 'gender identity,' not biological sex. In January 2025, a federal court found the Biden Administration's rule to be illegal and set it aside in its entirety. Upon taking office in January 2025, the Trump Administration immediately returned to enforcing the Trump Administration's 2020 Title IX rule, which properly safeguards against discrimination on the basis of sex.

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.