Trump officials issue funding ultimatum to San Jose State University over alleged Title IX violations

The Department of Education sent a letter warning San Jose State University that it has 10 days to comply with Title IX or risk losing federal funding, according to a Tuesday statement. The administration alleged that San Jose violated Title IX by allowing a man to compete on women’s volleyball teams. The school not only violated Title IX protections for women, but also retaliated against female athletes who spoke out against playing alongside the man, according to a January statement from Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

The California university first recruited a man, Blaire Fleming, who formerly went by the first name Brayden, in 2022 to play on the school’s female beach and indoor volleyball teams. Title IX investigators found that coaching staff were instructed not to inform female players that the new recruit was a man. Female players unknowingly shared locker rooms and hotel rooms with the male student they believed to be female. Investigators also noted safety concerns over the man, citing an example of him spiking a ball so hard that an opposing team member was knocked down.

San Jose had several chances to resolve violations with common sense actions, but remained obstinate and chose radical ideology over the safety of female students, according to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. The university is now on notice: comply or risk losing its funding, she added.

How can the school remedy the years-old violations? Education officials posed an agreement to resolve the violations after releasing the investigation’s findings. The proposed agreement required the school to issue personal apologies to players impacted by the male player, and to remove any records or titles the man was awarded while competing in the wrong category. The agreement also called for the school to adopt biology-based definitions of male and female, and issue a statement about the permanence of human sexes.

School officials refused to sign the proposed agreement or try to negotiate different terms, according to the Department of Education. The university has also taken no other action to ensure the safety or equal opportunity for female students, the department added.

How has the school responded? In a statement issued earlier this month, San Jose State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said the school takes its Title IX obligations seriously, but rejects the conclusions of the Department of Education, calling them unlawful. She said the school rejected the proposed resolution and had filed a lawsuit against the federal government as a result of the Department of Education’s actions. She went on to affirm her support for those who identify as LGBTQ.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more about the investigation.