Caving to pressure from the Trump Department of Education, the University of Pennsylvania has agreed to settle a case involving its violations of Title IX and return to “biology-based” policies to protect female students and athletes.
“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
In April, the department’s Office of Civil Rights notified UPenn President J. Larry Jameson that the University’s policies and practices violated Title IX by “denying women equal opportunities by permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”
At that time, the department demanded that the university meet three demands:
Issue a statement to the university community stating that the university will comply with Title IX in all of its athletic programs;
Restore to all female athletes all individual athletic records, titles, honors, awards or similar recognition for Division I swimming competitions misappropriated by male athletes competing in female categories;
Send a letter to each female athlete whose individual recognition is restored expressing an apology on behalf of the university for allowing her educational experience in athletics to be marred by sex discrimination.
According to the Department of Education press release, Penn has agreed to comply with all three demands, including stripping male athletes of awards they won while competing in women’s sports.
This means that Lia Thomas, a biological male competing as a woman, will lose his titles.
“Today is a great victory for women and girls, not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation. The department commends UPenn for rectifying its past harms against women and girls, and we will continue to fight relentlessly to restore Title IX’s proper application and enforce it to the fullest extent of the law,” McMahon said.
In March the Trump administration froze $175 million in funding for Penn because of the school’s policies to allow biological males to compete in women’s sports. Penn had defied a February executive order barring biological males from competing in women’s athletics.
UPenn even nominated Thomas, a biological male, for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
One of Thomas’ former teammates, Paula Scanlan, testified before Congress that she and her teammates were “offered psychological services to attempt to re-educate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male.”
Tuesday, Scanlan said she was “deeply grateful to the Trump administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades. I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honorable one.”
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, agreed.
“From day one, President Trump and Secretary McMahon vowed to protect women and girls, and today’s agreement with UPenn is a historic display of that promise being fulfilled. This administration does not just pay lip service to women’s equality: it vigorously insists on that equality being upheld,” said Gaines.
Under the agreement, Penn will restore all individual Division I swimming records, titles or similar recognition that were “misappropriated by male athletes,” the DOE said in a press release. Penn must also publicly apologize and say that Penn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or go into their “intimate facilities.”
The university must post the statement on its website and the websites for each of its women’s athletics programs. It will also remove any guidance that violated Title IX and notify staff.
The Ivy League school will also send letters apologizing to each of the women swimmers who were impacted.
Penn President Larry Jameson posted a statement saying that he was “pleased we were able to reach a resolution through the standard OCR process for concluding Title IX investigations.”
“Our commitment to ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all of our students is unwavering. At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders, and NCAA eligibility rules, so our teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports,” Jameson said.
He noted that at the time, the university complied with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as it was previously interpreted.
“…we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules. We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.
“We will review and update the Penn women’s swimming records set during that season to indicate who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines,” Jameson said.
