Education Dept. Says Penn Violated Title IX

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights said Monday that the University of Pennsylvania violated the gender-equity law Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and will have 10 days to respond to a proposed agreement that would resolve the investigation.

The announcement comes more than two months after OCR first opened a Title IX investigation into Penn. The department didn’t say what alleged violation it was investigating beyond athletics policies; however, officials have referenced Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who competed on Penn’s women’s swimming team in 2022—a move that was in accordance with NCAA policies at the time.

Since taking office in late January, President Donald Trump has signed executive orders banning transgender women from women’s sports and declaring that there are only two genders.

The Education Department followed that crackdown on transgender rights by focusing its civil rights enforcement on complaints or examples in which cisgender women claimed their rights were denied because a school or state allowed a transgender woman to compete in their sport or use their locker room.

On Monday, the department said that Penn violated Title IX “by denying women equal opportunities by permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”

In order to resolve the investigation, Penn would have to meet three demands. According to a department news release, those are:

• “Issue a statement to the University community stating that the University will comply with Title IX in all of its athletic programs;
• Restore to all female athletes all individual athletic records, titles, honors, awards or similar recognition for Division I swimming competitions misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories; and
• Send a letter to each female athlete whose individual recognition is restored expressing an apology on behalf of the University for allowing her educational experience in athletics to be marred by sex discrimination.”

Penn has said that it is in full compliance with the new NCAA policies that were changed after Trump’s executive orders regarding transgender athletes.

If Penn doesn’t agree to the demands, the department will refer the case to the Justice Department for enforcement proceedings, according to the release. The Trump administration has already frozen $175 million of Penn’s federal funding in a move that officials said wasn’t related to the OCR investigation.

“UPenn has a choice to make: do the right thing for its female students and come into full compliance with Title IX immediately or continue to advance an extremist political project that violates federal antidiscrimination law and puts UPenn’s federal funding at risk,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a statement.