The U.S. Department of Education said this week that policies of the Maryland Department of Education and school systems in Prince George's, Frederick and Montgomery counties on transgender students may violate Title IX, which bans sex-based discrimination. (File photo by Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola/Cronkite News)
Maryland school districts are defending their policies to protect transgender student athletes, despite a U.S. Department of Education charge that the policies may violate Title IX.
The department announced this week that it is investigating the Maryland State Department of Education and three local school districts — in Frederick, Montgomery and Prince Georges counties –for their policies regarding transgender students’ access to restrooms and sports teams that align with their gender identities.
MSDE guidance recommends that school districts allow students to use restrooms and participate on sports teams that best align with their gender identities. The federal department’s Office for Civil Rights said that policy could violate the Trump administration’s interpretations of Title IX – the 1972 law that withholds federal funding for educational institutions that discriminate on the basis of sex.
“The practice of allowing students to access sex-separated programs and facilities based solely on self-asserted ‘gender identity’ is deeply troubling and raises significant legal concerns,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a news release. “We will fully investigate these allegations and take appropriate action to ensure compliance with federal law.”
In a statement Wednesday, the state department said it “remains committed to supporting all students and upholding the law,” but that it could not comment further while the federal agency was conducting its investigation.
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Soon after President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the Education Department wrote to school districts and higher education institutions saying it would enforce Title IX protections “on the basis of biological sex in schools and campuses.”
In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order threatening federal funding for educational institutions that allowed transgender women to compete in women’s sports. The department’s investigation into the Maryland school districts is one of several similar cases across the country.
“This action realigned Title IX’s sex-based protections with biological reality, not ideological fantasy,” the press release said.
The three districts’ policies on gender are all relatively similar and seem to follow the MDSE’s guidelines.
For sports, the school districts’ say students can participate on the sports teams of their consistently expressed gender identity. In private facilities, like bathrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms, the districts’ guidelines say students and staff can use facilities that best align with their gender identity.
Montgomery County Public Schools “remains committed to providing safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments for all students and to complying with applicable federal and Maryland laws and regulations,” the district wrote in a statement Wednesday.
The federal department said its investigation began when girls who objected to sharing private facilities in their schools were told to seek alternative facilities, according to the press release.
All three school county system’s policies say that any students who are not comfortable using a shared facility can use alternative bathrooms, like single-stall restrooms.
“Some students or staff may feel uncomfortable with a transgender or gender diverse student or staff member using the same sex-specific facility,” both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties school district’s policies say. “This discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender or gender-diverse student or staff member.”
A Wednesday statement from Frederick County Public Schools said the school system was aware of the investigation, which, for now, serves as “the initiation of a fact-finding process,” and does not mean the system has been found to have committed a violation.
In its statement on Wednesday, the Prince George’s County school system said it is working “diligently and collaboratively” with the state and the other school districts to “to gather information and ensure a comprehensive response” to the investigation.
“PGCPS remains deeply committed to fostering safe, equitable, and compliant learning environments for all of our students and staff,” its statement said.
Originally published at Marylandmatters.Org