9 key Title IX milestones under the Trump administration
Campus Reform compiled nine pivotal moments in the fight to protect women’s sports and spaces under the Trump administration.
In a sweeping reversal of Biden-era Title IX policies, President Donald Trump enacted a series of reforms to restore protections for women in sports and education.
From his first day in office, the 47th president signed executive orders, led federal investigations, inspired NCAA policy overhauls, and oversaw the creation of a specialized task force to enforce Title IX.
Campus Reform compiled nine pivotal moments in the fight to protect women’s sports and spaces under the Trump administration:
1. Trump signs executive order banning men from women’s sports, thanks LI’s Riley Gaines
In his first month in the Oval Office, President Trump signed the executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which banned men from competing in women’s sports.
On day one of his administration, the president signed the executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
2. NCAA adjusts trans athlete policy to align with Trump executive order
In response to President Trump’s executive order, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) amended its policy to say “a student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team.”
3. Dept. of Ed urges NCAA to rescind records, awards from men playing in women’s divisions
In February, the Department of Education urged the NCAA to restore records and awards to female athletes. This change would restore titles taken by male athletes, such as University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) male swimmer Lia Thomas, to the women who earned them.
4. Trump administration establishes ‘Title IX Special Investigations Team’ to defend female athletes
In April, the Trump administration launched a “Title IX Special Investigations Team.” The task force is a joint effort between the Department of Education and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The team was created to investigate Title IX complaints and enforce the president’s executive order to keep men out of women’s spaces.
The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) entered a resolution agreement with the administration after the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found UPenn violated federal civil rights laws by allowing male swimmer Lia Thomas, formerly William Thomas, to compete against female athletes.
The school agreed to remove men from women’s sports, restore records to female athletes, and apologize to every affected female swimmer.
6. Wagner College enters Title IX agreement over male fencer, apologizes to female athletes
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Title IX Special Investigations Team found Wagner College violated Title IX when it allowed a male to compete on the women’s fencing team.
As part of an agreement, the school updated its athletic policies to reflect the biological definitions of sex and agreed to send personalized apology letters to affected female fencers.
The Department of Education found two institutions, the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), to be in violation of Title IX.
The department ordered the CDE to restore protections for single-sex programs and return records and awards to female athletes.
8. Trump admin investigates University of Wyoming for allowing male to join sorority
The Trump administration launched an investigation into the University of Wyoming (UW) for allowing a male to join a women’s sorority.
Campus Reform has been covering this case since 2022 when the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) chapter at UW became the first women’s sorority to welcome a male member.
9. 28 Attorneys general demand NCAA reinstate women’s titles, records taken by male athletes
Twenty-eight Republican attorneys general are calling on the NCAA to restore records and titles to female athletes.
Campus Reform interviewed Paula Scanlan, a former UPenn swimmer and teammate of Lia Thomas, who said she’d like to see “records amended” that were previously awarded to male athletes.
Follow the author of this article on X and Instagram: @RealEmilySturge
