The Education Department under the Trump administration ended formal agreements with five schools and one college that were previously required to protect transgender students’ rights.
Under the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, the government interpreted Title IX to also protect transgender students, as reported by The Associated Press.
Title IX is a federal law that bans sexual discrimination in schools. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s official website, the law says, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of s-x, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Trump administration undoes civil rights settlements that found discrimination against trans students https://t.co/vlxmSkALep
— The Advocate (@TheAdvocateMag) April 6, 2026
When complaints were filed about anyone refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns, the government would investigate. They would also require schools to sign agreements to train staff on transgender rights.
Students would also be allowed to use bathrooms according to their gender identity.
However, Donald Trump’s administration is canceling those agreements, meaning they are no longer required to follow those protections.
Delaware Valley School District has already rolled back its protections. Another district, Sacramento City Unified, stated that it “remains committed to the support of our LGBTQ+ students and staff.”
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Education Department, Kimberly Richey, hailed the administration for this decision. She said it reflected the government’s efforts to prevent transgender students from participating in women’s sports or using shared locker spaces.
She issued a written statement, as reported by The Guardian, saying, “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.”
The U.S. Department of Education also issued a press release that elaborated its stand on this.
Richey further stated, “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.”
The press release also addressed the Title IX rule, claiming, “The Biden Administration’s 2024 Title IX rule impermissibly expanded the scope of Title IX to enforce discrimination based on ‘gender identity,’ not biological s-x. In January 2025, a federal court found the Biden Administration’s rule to be illegal and set it aside in its entirety.”
BREAKING: Olympics committee bars transgender athletes, aligning with Trump executive order on women’s sports ahead of 2024 Los Angeles Games pic.twitter.com/DhEXjpsskR
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 26, 2026
It added, “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 s-x.”
Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center, has slammed this move.
She said, “This is part of the Trump administration’s assault on education and assault on those who are most vulnerable to experiencing discrimination and harassment, including trans students. They’ve made their intention very clear in wanting to erase protections for trans people,” as reported by The Associated Press.
