3 Michigan School Districts Face Federal Probes Into Alleged Title IX Violations

Three Michigan school districts are being investigated by federal officials for allegedly violating Title IX by allowing students to join sports teams and use locker rooms based on gender identities instead of sex.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is probing Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools, and the Chippewa Valley School District, assessing whether the districts violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the department said in a June 18 statement. Title IX bans sex discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal assistance.

Monroe Public Schools is alleged to have discriminated against girls by requiring the female volleyball team to compete against a team with a male member. The district also reportedly forced female players to share locker rooms with the male athlete, the department said.

“Parents report that Monroe Public Schools failed to respond appropriately to their concerns about legal violations and the risk of their children being put in inappropriate, unsafe situations,” according to the department.

Ann Arbor Public Schools allegedly follows policies allowing males to compete on female sports teams. A complaint received by the OCR claims a male competed on a girls’ volleyball team and used locker rooms assigned to females to undress.

The Chippewa Valley School District reportedly allowed a female athlete to use the males’ locker room.

In January last year, the department sent a letter to K-12 schools and institutions of higher education, advising officials that OCR would enforce the Trump administration’s 2020 Title IX rule, enforcing protections on the basis of sex in schools and on campuses.

On Feb. 5, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order—Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. In the order, Trump wrote that in recent years, many educational institutions had allowed males to compete in female sports, which he said was “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls.”

In the recent department’s statement, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the department will fully investigate the “alarming allegations” leveled against the three districts.

“The convoluted practice of allowing students to participate on sex-segregated athletic teams and make use of locker rooms based on ‘gender identity’ is not only known to be unsafe for students, but is a direct violation of federal law,” Richey said.

“The Trump Administration has consistently upheld Title IX, as it was written and intended by Congress, enforcing the law to protect students across America from discrimination on the basis of sex rather than to perpetuate a radical ideology that risks the safety and well-being of students.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools, and the Chippewa Valley School District for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Title IX Legal Challenge

In April, a federal appeals court declined to block a policy in Minnesota that allows transgender-identifying athletes to compete in girls’ K–12 sports.

The case was filed by the Female Athletes United, a nonprofit representing female athletes. Advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal representative of Female Athletes United, filed the lawsuit in May 2025 to stop males from playing in female teams.

In its decision, the court said that Title IX allows private lawsuits only if the claims allege intentional sex discrimination.

“In the Title IX context, intentional sex discrimination occurs whenever a defendant treats persons less favorably ‘because’ of their sex,” the court said. “We conclude that [the plaintiff] has not brought a claim of intentional discrimination based on inferences stemming from [the participation of Jane Doe, a transgender-identifying biological male] in girls’ softball.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom said the ruling was disappointing. In an X post, Kristen Waggoner, president of the advocacy group, said Title IX was passed to give equal opportunities to women.

The court “said that even if Minnesota’s policies violate Title IX, our female athlete clients cannot hold the state accountable—at least not now. We respectfully disagree,” Waggoner said.

Meanwhile, the Education Department announced on June 1 that it was celebrating the month as the “Title IX Month” for the second straight year. June 2026 is the 54th anniversary of Title IX being signed into law.

“Throughout the month of June, we’re spotlighting the critical civil rights protections that women fought for decades to secure and the Trump Administration’s vigorous commitment to protecting Title IX’s promise for current and future generations of women and girls,” Richey said.