The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Monday that the University of Pennsylvania violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by allowing biological males to compete on women’s athletic teams and access women-only facilities, thereby denying women equal opportunities. The ruling, addressed to Penn President Larry Jameson, gives the university 10 days to enter a voluntary resolution agreement or risk referral to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement proceedings.
“Little girls who look up to Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan can find hope in today’s action – the Trump administration will not allow male athletes to invade female private spaces or compete in female categories,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “UPenn has a choice to make: do the right thing for its female students and come into full compliance with Title IX immediately, or continue to advance an extremist political project that violates federal antidiscrimination law and puts UPenn’s federal funding at risk.”
Gaines came to national prominence after tying for fifth place with biological male swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Thomas would also go on to win a national championship title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.
Scanlan was on the UPenn women’s swim team with Thomas. She was an outspoken critic of the university’s decision to allow a male swimmer to compete on the women’s team and use women’s locker rooms during the 2021-22 season.
The OCR’s investigation found Penn’s policies, while compliant with NCAA and Ivy League rules at the time, violated federal civil rights law.
To resolve the violation, the OCR proposed an agreement requiring Penn to:
- Publicly commit to Title IX compliance across all athletic programs.
- Restore records, titles, honors, and awards to female athletes in Division 1 swimming competitions affected by male participation.
- Issue formal apology letters to each female athlete whose recognition is restored.
The ruling follows the Trump administration’s decision in March to freeze $175 million in federal funding to Penn over its transgender athlete policies. Penn, notably President Donald Trump’s alma mater where he earned an economics degree from the Wharton School in 1968, has declined to comment on the OCR’s findings.
Philadelphia attorney and Penn alumnus J. Matthew Wolfe praised the decision, stating, “I am a proud graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and am very happy with the Department of Education’s ruling that Penn violated civil rights laws by permitting transgender athletes to compete on women’s sports teams.
A Penn spokesman declined to comment. In March, when the $175 million freeze was announced, a Penn spokesman said, “We have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with the regulations that apply to not only Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions.”
Not good enough, said Wolfe, who argues the university knew it was violating federal law, regardless of what other organizations said.
“Penn should have taken a stand to defend women’s rights and resisted any rules that limited women’s opportunities or privacy,” Wolfe added.
