Trump admin officially rescinds Biden-era Title IX rules that allowed men in women's sports

The Department of Education on Monday formally rescinded the Biden-era rewrite of Title IX, which expanded the protections afforded to women to sexual orientation and gender identity, including for men who believe they are women. In its place, the Trump administration has reinstated the common sense 2020 regulations from Trump’s first administration. 

This change is meant to formally protect women's sports and to disallow men who claim to be women from competing in women's categories. Several states, however, require elementary, middle, high school and colleges to allow men to play on women's teams, creating an unfair playing field. Some girls, from Connecticut to California, have brought suits against their schools for allowing men to play against them, saying that this has caused injury and loss of opportunities such as in scholarships or awards.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in school programs receiving federal funds. Under Biden, the rule was interpreted to include discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. In 2025, a federal judge ruled that the Biden-era Department of Health and Human Services “exceeded its authority” in its interpretation of Title IX, which is part of a 1960s era set of equal rights laws.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “Today’s rulemaking clears the Biden Administration’s illegal rewrite of Title IX from the Code of Federal Regulations and restores the commonsense language promulgated in the first Trump Administration, which we have been enforcing since the first days of the Administration.”

She added, “Thanks to today’s action, the published Title IX regulations faithfully reflects court orders and Congressional intent—reducing confusion for parents, students, and educational institutions. We will continue to relentlessly champion equal opportunity for all Americans and hold accountable any school or college that violates the rights, privacy, or athletic opportunities of our women and girls.” 

A fact sheet from the Department of Education stated that “nothing changes in practice for individual students, parents, and teachers. The rules promulgated today are the rules the Department has been enforcing since January 31, 2025. Today’s action does not change those rules. Instead, today's final rule deletes the vacated Biden Administration’s illegal regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations so schools, students, and families can easily identify the Title IX regulations that are actually in effect.” 

Monday’s action does not reflect any new policy decisions, the fact sheet stated, and “formally removes the illegal changes the Biden Administration made to the Title IX rule in 2024 and recodifies all of the language that was previously in effect.” 

The Department of Education noted the “historic action” the administration has taken over the past 19 months, including returning to enforcing Title IX as it was under Trump’s first administration within two weeks of returning to office, securing resolution agreements with colleges and universities over the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports, and the creation of a Title IX Special Investigations Team alongside the Department of Justice.