Department of Education finds California violated Title IX by discriminating against girls, women

The United States Department of Education's Civil Rights office on Wednesday found that California violated Title IX by discriminating against female athletes on the basis of sex.

The department was investigating allegations that California's Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) violated federal law by complying with state law on allowing athletes to compete on teams based on their gender identity rather than the person's biological sex.

“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. 

“The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law," she continued. "The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.” 

The department has given the state 10 days to comply with the federal law, or face consequences that could include referral to the Justice Department for prosecution.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.