On Monday, the Education Department determined that the University of Pennsylvania violated Title IX for allowing transgender athletes to compete on women's sports teams and ordered the school to reverse course or face possible legal action, The Hill reported.
In a notice sent to Penn President J. Larry Jameson, the department outlined a proposed resolution agreement that must be signed within 10 days. The agreement would require Penn to bar transgender athletes from participating in women's athletic programs and send letters of apology to female athletes whose experiences were "marred by sex discrimination."
The department did not cite specific incidents but said the school must erase the records, awards, or similar recognitions of transgender female students for Division I swimming competitions. This requirement applies specifically to Lia Thomas, a former Penn swimmer who competed on the women's team in 2022.
Asked if the violation was directly tied to Thomas' participation, a department spokesperson pointed to a February news release announcing Title IX investigations into Penn, San Jose State University, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The announcement explicitly referenced Thomas by name.
Penn has stated that it previously followed NCAA policies and did not have an independent transgender athlete policy.
In 2022, when she graduated, Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship by securing victory in the women's 500-yard freestyle. She also tied for fifth place in the women's 200-yard freestyle at the same event, finishing alongside Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has since become an outspoken advocate against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports.
Gaines has been vocal about her experiences competing against Thomas through social media, interviews, and appearances before state legislatures and Congress. She also joined President Donald Trump at the White House in February when he signed the executive order banning transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports and attended his March joint address to Congress as a guest of first lady Melania Trump.
Conservative lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invited Gaines to the last two annual State of the Union addresses. State laws named after her in West Virginia and Georgia ban transgender students from participating on school sports teams and using facilities aligned with their gender identity.
The Education Department said on Monday that if Penn does not resolve the Title IX violations by May 8, the matter will be referred to the Justice Department for further action.
"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," said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights.