WASHINGTON \u2014 The Education Department said Monday it has terminated agreements with five school districts and a college aimed at upholding protections for transgender students, backing away from requirements negotiated by previous administrations that took a different interpretation of civil rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision removes the federal obligations for the schools to keep up measures such as faculty training on abiding by a students\u2019 preferred name and pronouns and allowing students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the school systems, Delaware Valley School District in rural eastern Pennsylvania, received notice of the change from the Trump administration in February and has since voted to roll back its antidiscrimination protections for transgender students. Another district, Sacramento City Unified, said Monday it \u201cremains committed to the support of our LGBTQ+ students and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other affected districts are Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, Fife School District in Washington, and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District and Taft College in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the Biden and Obama administrations, the department interpreted Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, to include protections for transgender and gay students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration has penalized schools that have made efforts to accommodate students based on their gender identity. It has filed lawsuits in California and Minnesota over state policies permitting transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports, and opened civil rights investigations into schools and universities over their policies on transgender students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the action reflects the administration\u2019s efforts to keep transgender students from participating in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, 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,\u201d she said in a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rescinding civil rights agreements is an unusual step, but one the Trump administration has taken before on education issues. Last year, the Education Department terminated one agreement involving books removed from a school library in Georgia, and another targeting harsh discipline and unequal education opportunities for Native students in the Rapid City Area School District in South Dakota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rescission of the agreements would mean a step back from protecting vulnerable students in schools, said Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women\u2019s Law Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is part of the Trump administration\u2019s assault on education and assault on those who are most vulnerable to experiencing discrimination and harassment, including trans students,\u201d Patel said. \u201cThey\u2019ve made their intention very clear in wanting to erase protections for trans people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taft College, a community college in California\u2019s Central Valley, settled a case in 2023 with the Education Department\u2019s Office for Civil Rights after a student accused faculty of discrimination that included refusing to use the student\u2019s preferred pronouns. The college agreed to faculty training on Title IX and a revision of college policies to clarify that refusal to use a person\u2019s preferred name and pronoun could constitute harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agreement with Sacramento City Unified School District stemmed from a complaint brought in 2022 by a student after a teacher refused to use preferred pronouns or to place the student, who identified as male, in a boys\u2019 group for a class activity. The 2024 resolution agreement mandated training for employees on civil rights law, sexual harassment and how to handle formal complaints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under a settlement the Delaware Valley School District reached with the Obama administration, the district was required to permit students to use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February, the Trump administration sent the district a letter saying it was rescinding the settlement. The administration went further, requiring the district to roll back antidiscrimination protections for transgender students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The school board voted in late March to change its transgender student policies to abide by the Trump administration\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the day he returned to the White House more than a year ago, Trump and his administration have aimed at the rights of transgender people in several ways \u2014 and not just in schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has tried to end participation of transgender women and girls in women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sports competitions and has sued states that don\u2019t comply. He\u2019s also blocked transgender and nonbinary people from choosing the sex markers on passports. His administration has also tried to stop those under 19 from receiving gender-affirming medical care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n