California Schools to Lose $1 Billion in Federal Funding Over Gender Policies, State Leaders Say

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights determined that California’s policies discriminate against female athletes, violating Title IX.

College athlete Amber French speaks at a press conference held by the Save Girls' Sports CA Coalition in Long Beach, Calif., on Feb. 7, 2025. The group called on the California Interscholastic Federation to follow the president's executive order banning men from women's sports. Courtesy of Alyssa Cruz

California public schools will lose $1 billion in federal funds for the coming school year as the Trump administration has accused the state of violating Title IX by allowing transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.

The estimated loss, based on the federal contribution in previous years, was included in a California Department of Education July 1 statement in which state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and other leaders alleged “egregious federal overreach” and demanded that the money be restored.

“We’re told by [President Donald] Trump’s Department of Education that they are withholding critical school funding that isn’t in ‘accordance with the President’s priorities,’” Thurmond said in a statement on June 30.

“The administration is punishing children when states refuse to cater to Trump’s political ideology. This illegal action will harm students starting now.”

On June 25, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) concluded that California’s policies permitting male athletes identifying as transgender to participate in girls’ sports discriminate against female athletes, violating Title IX. The decision follows an investigation launched in February after the president issued an executive order to ban athletes who identify as transgender from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

The California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation were given 10 days to agree to change their policies to comply with Title IX or face consequences, including funding cuts, according to the OCR.

The federal government said the state actively prevented equality of opportunity and failed to protect female athletes from unfair competition and unsafe situations by allowing males in sports designed for women and in intimate spaces.

“The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement on June 25. “The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.”

The administration also asked California to notify schools of the federal legal requirement to prohibit transgender athletes from joining girls’ athletic teams. The state would also have to reassign awards, titles, or records to female athletes who were defeated by transgender-identifying competitors while also issuing apology letters to those female athletes.

Sonja Shaw, Chino Valley School Board president, said Trump’s actions are about enforcing Title IX.

“California’s education officials are gaslighting the public yet again—pretending to be victims after years of pushing radical agendas and failing our kids,” Shaw told The Epoch Times in an email on July 1. “Let’s be clear: The Trump administration’s decision to freeze funds is a necessary course correction.

“You don’t get to violate federal law, attack families, and cry foul when you’re caught.”

California’s AB 1266, which went into effect in 2013, allows students to participate in activities based on their gender identity.