The Department of Education determined the University of Pennsylvania broke a federal civil rights law when it allowed a transgender swimmer to compete on its women’s team. In a ruling released Monday, April 28, the department stated the school violated Title IX by letting Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, participate in women’s Division I swimming and use female-designated facilities during the 2021-2022 season.
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.
“The Trump Administration will not allow male athletes to invade female private spaces or compete in female categories,” Craig Trainor, the Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement. “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 anti-discrimination law and puts UPenn’s federal funding at risk.”
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The Education Department ordered UPenn to reinstate titles, records and awards to female athletes it identified as having been adversely affected by Thomas’ participation on the swim team. It also directed the school to issue formal apologies to those athletes.
Thomas became an Ivy League champion at the university and set multiple records in women’s events.
What consequences could Penn face for noncompliance?
The university was given 10 days to comply with the directive or face possible enforcement actions, including the loss of federal funding and a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.
This order comes amid the Trump administration’s ongoing pause in the disbursement of $175 million in federal funds to Penn over Thomas’ inclusion on the women’s team.
UPenn previously stated that its decision to allow Thomas to compete was in accordance with NCAA regulations in effect at the time.
“During the 2021-2022 season, a student-athlete who had transitioned while on leave from Penn the previous year competed in women’s swimming in full compliance with NCAA rules and Title IX policies in place at the time,” University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson said in March after the Trump administration’s prior pause of federal funds.
Meanwhile, three former teammates of Thomas filed a lawsuit against the university. The former UPenn swimmers said that Thomas’ participation deprived them of equal athletic opportunities under Title IX. In response, Penn argued that excluding her might have subjected the university to liability for discrimination.
What happens next?
As the May 8 deadline to comply with the federal directive approaches, more than 600 faculty members at Penn signed an open letter urging the university to reject the Education Department’s order, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported.
The letter called on the institution to join other universities in contesting what signatories described as federal overreach.
