U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Issues Letter of Impending Enforcement to San Jose State University on Title IX Compliance

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department)'s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Letter of Impending Enforcement Action to San Jose State University (SJSU) for its ongoing refusal to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).

In January, the Department found that SJSU's policies allowing males to compete in women's sports and access female-only facilities deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits. OCR submitted to SJSU a proposed Resolution Agreement with terms that would have resolved its Title IX violations. SJSU refused to sign it or attempt to negotiate its terms, and has taken no other action to ensure the safety of its female students and deliver equal educational opportunities.

"We have provided SJSU with multiple opportunities to resolve its Title IX violations with common sense actions: separating male and female athletes based on their biological sex, keeping men out of women's locker rooms and bathrooms, restoring rightfully-earned titles and accolades to female athletes, and apologizing to the women forced to forfeit competitions to protect themselves. Yet, SJSU remains obstinate, choosing a radical ideology over safety, dignity, and fairness for its own students," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. "With today's action, the Department is putting the university on notice: comply with the law or risk losing its federal funding."

SJSU has 10 calendar days to come into compliance or face enforcement action, including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and risk of termination of SJSU's federal funding.

Background

OCR found that beginning in 2022, SJSU actively recruited and allowed a male to compete on the women's indoor and beach volleyball teams and reportedly instructed members of the coaching staff not to tell the female players that the athlete was a male. As a result, female athletes on the team shared women's locker rooms and hotel rooms with the male student while being unaware that he is a member of the opposite sex.

In addition to privacy concerns, the presence of this male athlete presented a safety concern for female athletes and provided SJSU's volleyball team with an unfair physical advantage over opposing teams. On multiple occasions, the male athlete spiked the ball so forcefully that it knocked females on the opposing team to the ground. During one season, seven all-women's teams from other universities forfeited their competitions, accepting a loss rather than competing against a male.

OCR concluded that SJSU also violated Title IX by failing to promptly and equitably investigate Title IX complaints filed by SJSU female athletes about the presence of the male on their team and by taking action that discouraged women from participating in the Title IX process. In addition, days after a SJSU female volleyball player joined a Title IX lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), she discovered that the male student had conspired to have a member of the opposing team spike her in the face during an upcoming match. SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected this female athlete to a Title IX complaint for reportedly "misgendering" the male athlete when discussing this incident in online videos and interviews.

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.