Trump Education Dept to probe SJSU, UPenn for potential Title IX violations after trans athlete scandals

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump's Department of Education (DOE) launched an probe into imaginable Title IX violations that occurred astatine aggregate acquisition institutions, hours aft helium signed an executive order to prohibition trans athletes from women's sports. 

The Department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) volition beryllium investigating San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) for abstracted incidents involving trans athletes competing connected a women's oregon girls' sports team. 

"Pursuant to President Trump’s Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports Executive Order yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education contiguous announced investigations into 2 acquisition institutions and an diversion relation wherever violations of Title IX person been reported," work a connection from the DOE provided exclusively to Fox News Digital. 

"President Trump’s Executive Order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ is simply a committedness to women and girls: this medication volition not tolerate the mistreatment of pistillate athletes." 

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President Donald Trump signs the No Men successful Women's Sports Executive Order into instrumentality successful the East Room of the White House successful Washington, D.C., connected Feb. 5, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

The incidents astatine San Jose State and UPenn became widely-publicized controversies that resulted successful aggregate lawsuits. 

At UPenn, transgender swimmer Lia Thomas was allowed to vie connected the women's aquatics squad aft antecedently competing connected the school's men's team. Thomas went connected to interruption aggregate women's records, winning respective events astatine the 2022 Ivy League championships and NCAA championships. 

Former UPenn swimmer Paula Scanlan, who had to stock a locker country with Thomas, provided a connection to Fox News Digital thanking the DOE for its forthcoming investigation.

"I’m profoundly grateful to the Department of Education for addressing Title IX violations concerning pistillate athletes with specified seriousness. As a erstwhile University of Pennsylvania swimmer who was forced to vie against and stock a locker country with a antheral athlete, I look guardant to them holding accountable the higher acquisition institutions that promoted this," Scanlan said. 

A lawsuit filed by 3 different erstwhile UPenn women's swimmers alleges the assemblage administrators and women's swimming manager Mike Schnur misled the players astir whether Thomas would beryllium sharing a locker country with them. The 3 women besides allege the schoolhouse pushed pro-trans ideology onto them during the process of accepting Thomas connected the team, and they were led to consciousness their concerns implicit being teammates with a biologic antheral was rooted successful a "psychological problem."

"The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas’s information connected the UPenn Women’s team, they should question counseling and enactment from CAPS and the LBGTQ center," the suit alleges. 

"The administrators besides invited the women to a speech titled, ‘Trans 101.’ Thus, the women were led to recognize that UPenn’s presumption was that if a pistillate connected the squad had immoderate occupation with a trans-identifying antheral being connected her squad that pistillate had a intelligence occupation and needed counseling."

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Former University of Kentucky swimmer and existent blimpish activistic Riley Gaines has besides filed a suit against the NCAA for its existent sex individuality polices implicit her acquisition competing alongside Thomas astatine the 2022 NCAA championships. Several different women impacted by trans inclusion person joined Gaines' lawsuit. 

Fox News Digital has reached retired to UPenn for comment.

At San Jose State, transgender volleyball subordinate Blaire Fleming played 3 seasons connected the women's squad from 2022-24, arsenic 1 of the Mountain West's apical hitters, starring the squad successful kills. However, dissimilar UPenn's handling of Thomas, SJSU administrators allegedly withheld the information astir Fleming's commencement enactment from the different pistillate players connected the team, according to a lawsuit filed by 11 Mountain West volleyball players and a erstwhile SJSU adjunct coach. 

Former Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser leads that suit and is besides a plaintiff successful Gaines' suit against the NCAA. Slusser alleges San Jose State administrators and volleyball manager Todd Kress actively prevented her from knowing Fleming's commencement enactment portion assigning her to stock bedrooms with the trans jock connected astir roadworthy trips during their archetypal play unneurotic successful 2023. 

Slusser's suit against the Mountain West besides alleges that Fleming conspired with an hostile connected different squad to person Slusser spiked successful the look during a lucifer connected Oct. 3. 

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The contention involving Fleming prompted 5 of SJSU's opponents successful 2024 to forfeit a full of 8 matches. The last forfeit was the Mountain West Tournament semifinal against Boise State, who had already forfeited doubly to the Spartans successful the regular season. 

That forfeit sent Fleming, Slusser and SJSU to the league final, wherever they mislaid to Colorado State. The plaintiffs successful Slusser's suit filed an exigency injunction successful November anterior to the tourney successful an effort to person Fleming removed from contention and each losses by forfeit wiped from their opponents' records. However, national Judge Kato Crews, who was appointed by then-President Joe Biden successful January 2024, ruled to let Fleming to play. 

Fox News Digital has reached retired to San Jose State for comment.

The concern involving the MIAA occurred successful February 2024, erstwhile a trans jock for the KIPP Academy Lynn girl's hoops squad caused injuries to pistillate players for Collegiate Charter School of Lowell. Collegiate Charter had to forfeit the crippled astatine halftime for the involvement of the well-being of its players. 

The MIAA's handbook states that a "student shall not beryllium excluded from information connected a gender-specific sports squad that is accordant with the student’s bona fide sex identity."

Fox News Digital has reached retired to the MIAA and Kipp Academy for comment.

Now, each 3 of those institutions look an probe by Trump's DOE. 

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President Donald Trump's Department of Education launched an probe into imaginable Title IX violations that occurred astatine aggregate acquisition institutions, hours aft helium signed an enforcement bid to prohibition trans athletes from women's sports. (Getty Images)

Additionally, the OCR volition beryllium actively reviewing diversion information policies astatine a fig of schools to measure their alignment with Title IX protections for pistillate athletes, sources told Fox News Digital. 

Last week, the DOE notified K-12 schools and higher acquisition institutions of a instrumentality to enforcing Title IX protections connected the ground of biologic sex. 

The NCAA has already suggested it volition capitulate to Trump's order. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker responded to the enforcement bid successful a statement, saying it provided a "clear, nationalist standard," and the NCAA Board of Governors would reappraisal it and instrumentality steps to align the organization’s argumentation successful the coming days.

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