Dept. of Education Rescinds Title IX Transgender Protections at Cape Henlopen School District
LEWES, Del. – The U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has rescinded provisions of resolution agreements protecting the rights of transgender students, as enforced by the Biden Administration under Title IX.
Resolution agreements are used by OCR to require schools to take specific actions to resolve noncompliance with federal civil rights law. The Biden Administration previously expanded Title IX protections to include discrimination on the basis of gender identity. In Jan. 2025, a federal court found the rule to be illegal, setting it aside in its entirety. Upon taking office the same month, the Trump Administration immediately returned to enforcing the Trump Administration’s 2020 Title IX rule, which solely safeguards against discrimination on the basis of sex.
“Today, the Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. “Today is yet another demonstration of the Trump Administration’s commitment to uphold the law, protect our students, and restore common sense. No longer will the federal government force educational institutions to violate the law or punish them for upholding it.”
Subsequently, the DOE will therefore no longer monitor or enforce the agreements reached with:
- Cape Henlopen School District
- Delaware Valley School District
- Fife School District
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District
- Sacramento City Unified
- Taft College
Under the previous administration, the cited school districts were issued Title IX violations for actions including the improper use of students’ preferred pronouns, and asking questions about a student’s preferred gender. Because current officials argue that Title IX protections are based on sex rather than gender, the districts are no longer in violation of the law and and hence free of the resolution agreements.
In a statement to WMDT, the Cape Henlopen School District reacted to the announcement, stating the following:
“The Cape Henlopen School District has received correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights regarding the resolution agreement entered in March 2024. As always, we are committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment where all students can succeed. We will continue to work collaboratively to ensure our practices and programs support the well-being, growth, and achievement of every student in our District.”
