Title IX agreements on shaky ground after Education Department rescinds gender-identity deals

The Education Department took an unprecedented step this week to nullify Title IX agreements previous administrations had made with school districts over gender identity, laying the groundwork for an environment that turns such settlements into political ping-pong. 

The department rescinded six agreements made during the Obama and Biden administrations that required districts to implement policies such as gender discrimination trainings or instructions on preferred names and pronoun usage for transgender students.

The Trump administration said Title IX is based on sex, therefore the enforcement by past administrations was “illegal and burdensome.” 

“Prior Administrations regularly misinterpreted Title IX to pander to political ideology and police ‘misgendering’ despite not having sound legal grounds. With yesterday’s actions, the Trump Administration is upholding the law and righting years of wrongs,” Amelia Joy, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, said Tuesday.

Experts don’t recall a time when agreements were canceled by a new administration.

“This is very rare, bizarre,” said Nikhil Vashee, director of education law and policy at Family Equality, adding, “I think it’s going to cause a lot of confusion.” 

The Obama administration issued guidance in 2016 that federal sex discrimination law protected transgender students. That guidance was rescinded in 2017 by the first Trump administration.

The Biden administration attempted to make significant changes to Title IX by formally expanding nondiscrimination protections to LBGTQ students, putting gender identity and sexuality under the definition of sex discrimination. A federal........

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