Dept of Education rescinds six Title IX agreements, ends federal enforcement of gender identity policies

The US Department of Education announced that its Office for Civil Rights has rescinded parts of six Title IX resolution agreements negotiated under previous administrations, saying the changes remove what it described as unlawful and burdensome requirements on schools regarding gender ideology.

Under the Obama and Biden administrations, the Education Department interpreted Title IX, the 1972 law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, to include discrimination based on gender identity. The Trump administration has reversed that interpretation and is using a definition based on biological sex.

The move ends agreements negotiated during the Obama and Biden administrations with five school districts and one college. Those settlements had required the institutions to adopt policies forcing schools to let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, rather than their biological sex. The decision also removed the federal obligations for the schools to use students' preferred names and pronouns.

The department said it will no longer play any role in enforcing the agreements, and it has rescinded portions of six resolution agreements previously overseen by its Office for Civil Rights. The affected institutions include Cape Henlopen School District, Delaware Valley School District, Fife School District, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, Sacramento City Unified, and Taft College.

Resolution agreements are typically used by the Office for Civil Rights to bring schools into compliance with federal civil rights laws. In this case, the agreements were based on prior federal interpretations of Title IX that extended protections to transgender students.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the administration is seeking to change enforcement priorities under Title IX. She said the department will focus instead on cases involving alleged harms to girls and women, including participation in sports and access to sex-separated spaces.

The decision follows a broader legal and policy shift. A federal court in January 2025 set aside the Biden administration’s 2024 Title IX rule, which had expanded protections to include gender identity. After taking office, the Trump administration reinstated its earlier 2020 Title IX regulations.