After San José State Sues, McMahon Threatens to Take Action

The Education Department is giving San José State University 10 days to resolve an ongoing Title IX investigation or else it will seek to cut off the university’s federal funding, according to a social media post from Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

The latest threat comes after the university asked the Education Department and a federal judge to rescind the finding that SJSU violated Title IX when it allowed a trans woman to compete on the women’s volleyball team from 2022 to 2024.

SJSU said late last week that it could not agree to the department’s proposed resolution agreement, which would have required the university to apologize to the cisgender female competitors who played against the trans athlete, among other terms. University officials said the department’s finding and proposed agreement violate the law.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights wrote in a March 11 letter that it determined that the two parties were at an impasse. If a resolution isn’t reached in 10 days, OCR will issue a letter of impending enforcement action, and such actions could include suspending or terminating federal funding at San José State.

The lawsuit from San José State and the broader California State University system seeks to block the department from taking an enforcement action. ED has not responded in court.