Trump Admin Finds San Jose State Violated Title IX

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has ruled that San Jose State University violated Title IX by allowing a male athlete to compete in women's sports and access female-only facilities.

In a written finding released Wednesday, the OCR concluded that the university's policies "deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits" under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The investigation began in February 2025 after allegations that San Jose State allowed a male athlete to compete on the women's indoor volleyball team and retaliated against female students and an assistant coach who opposed the school's gender identity policies.

"SJSU caused significant harm to female athletes by allowing a male to compete on the women's volleyball team, creating unfairness in competition, compromising safety, and denying women equal opportunities in athletics, including scholarships and playing time," Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.

"Even worse, when female athletes spoke out, SJSU retaliated, ignoring sex discrimination claims while subjecting one female SJSU athlete to a Title IX complaint for allegedly misgendering the male athlete competing on a women's team," Richey said.

As part of its noncompliance finding, the OCR issued a proposed resolution agreement requiring San Jose State to adopt biology-based definitions of male and female and acknowledge that sex is unchangeable.

The agreement also requires the university to separate sports teams and intimate facilities based on biological sex and to stop delegating Title IX compliance to outside associations or contractors.

The administration further directed San Jose State to restore athletic records and titles to female athletes displaced by male competitors and to issue personalized apology letters acknowledging sex discrimination.

The proposed resolution also requires written apologies to every woman who played on the university's women's indoor volleyball teams from 2022 through 2024, the 2023 beach volleyball team, and athletes from teams that forfeited rather than compete against San Jose State while a male athlete was on the roster.

According to the findings, San Jose State recruited and allowed a male athlete to compete on women's indoor and beach volleyball teams beginning in 2022 and instructed staff not to inform female players of the athlete's sex.

The OCR said female athletes shared locker rooms and hotel rooms with the male athlete without knowing he was a member of the opposite sex, which raised safety and privacy concerns.

The findings also state that seven all-women teams forfeited matches rather than compete against San Jose State during one season and that the male athlete's participation created an unfair physical advantage.

The findings indicate that the university failed to promptly investigate Title IX complaints filed by female athletes and discouraged participation in the complaint process.

The report cited an incident in which a female athlete who joined a Title IX lawsuit later faced a complaint for misgendering the male athlete, while the university declined to investigate an alleged conspiracy against her.

When the federal investigation was announced in February, San Jose State issued a statement defending its approach and citing compliance with state and systemwide policies.

"San Jose State University is committed to ensuring that all of our students, including our student athletes, are treated fairly, free from discrimination and afforded the rights and protections granted under federal and state law, including privacy rights," the university said.

The statement added that the university would "fully engage with the process" while continuing to act "within our authority to uphold the values that define us as an institution."

The Trump administration in mid-January announced that another 18 academic institutions in 10 states were being investigated for Title IX violations, accusing them of permitting students to participate in sports based on their "gender identity" rather than biological sex.