The Trump administration is reversing federal civil rights enforcement in cases involving discrimination against transgender students. The U.S. Department of Education has begun terminating or rewriting settlements that previously required schools to treat gender identity discrimination as a violation of Title IX. These agreements, negotiated through the Office for Civil Rights, followed investigations that found transgender students were denied equal access to education.
One example is Pennsylvania’s Delaware Valley School District, where a 2015 federal probe concluded officials failed to address sex-based discrimination against a transgender student. A 2016 settlement required the district to expand protections, defining gender-based discrimination to include gender identity, gender expression, and transgender status. It also mandated staff training and policy reforms. At the time, federal officials stated, “Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance.”
That position has now changed. In a February 25 letter, the Office for Civil Rights confirmed that OCR terminates the Resolution Agreement and any obligations thereunder. The move is part of a broader rollback affecting multiple states.
