Overview
- The Office for Civil Rights said it launched investigations into 15 K-12 districts, three colleges, and the education departments in New York City and Hawaii across 10 states for policies allowing participation based on gender identity.
- Named cases include New York City Public Schools; Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District in New York, where officials are reviewing an allegation involving a girls’ volleyball tryout; the University of Nevada, Reno; and California’s Santa Monica College and Santa Rosa Junior College.
- The announcement came the day after the Supreme Court heard arguments in challenges to Idaho and West Virginia laws barring transgender girls from female teams, underscoring parallel legal fights over how Title IX applies to school athletics.
- Education officials cite Title IX and the president’s directive as the basis for possible penalties up to loss of federal funding, with Assistant Secretary Kimberly Richey pledging exhaustive reviews through the Title IX Special Investigations Team.
- Some institutions signaled cooperation or adherence to state guidance, while advocates such as the Transgender Law Center argue federal law requires protections for transgender students and criticized the investigations as misusing Title IX.