The Trump administration announced Monday it is canceling civil rights agreements that protected transgender students, including one with a Delaware school district.
Federal education officials said they are ending six settlement agreements they claim were improperly negotiated under Title IX regulations. Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits educational discrimination “on the basis of sex.”
Among the terminated agreements is one with Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware. Other affected districts include Sacramento City Unified in California, Fife School District in Washington, Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania, La Mesa-Spring Valley in California, and Taft College in California.
These settlements were designed to protect transgender students’ equal access to education opportunities, according to previous reporting.
The move represents part of Trump’s broader policy changes since returning to office. His administration has implemented executive orders targeting transgender rights and issued directives stating the federal government will only recognize male and female as biological sexes.
Education Department official Kimberly Richey defended the decision, stating: “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.”
The affected school districts and college have not yet responded to requests for comment about the terminations.
Trump’s policies regarding transgender rights have drawn criticism from LGBTQ advocacy organizations and civil rights groups nationwide.
Federal education officials did not provide specific details about what the terminated agreements required or how the change will affect students in these districts.
