Department of Education Addresses Title IX Violations at SJSU

This week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that San José State University (SJSU) has breached Title IX regulations by permitting a biological male, who identifies as a transgender woman, to compete on its women’s volleyball team.

The announcement highlighted various concerns, including unfair competition, safety issues, and the infringement on opportunities for female athletes, such as access to scholarships and adequate playing time. SJSU has been given a deadline of ten days to adhere to a set of outlined agreements.

The Department’s decision comes after an investigation into claims that the university allowed a biological male to participate in the women’s indoor volleyball league in 2024. Allegations of retaliation against female students and an assistant coach who raised objections were also part of the inquiry.

Kimberly Richey, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, stated, “SJSU caused significant harm to female athletes by allowing a male to compete on the women’s volleyball team—creating unfairness in competition, compromising safety, and denying women equal opportunities in athletics, including scholarships and playing time.” She further emphasized that when female athletes spoke out, SJSU retaliated against them, dismissing claims of sex discrimination and even subjecting one female athlete to a Title IX complaint for allegedly ‘misgendering’ the male competitor.

Richey condemned the situation as unacceptable, asserting that the department intends to hold SJSU accountable for its actions and work to protect future athletes from similar injustices.

According to the Education Department, SJSU “actively recruited” a male athlete to compete in women’s indoor and beach volleyball beginning in 2022. Reports indicate that the university directed coaching staff not to inform female players of the athlete’s biological sex.

This led to locker room and hotel sharing situations, igniting safety concerns. Instances were noted where the male athlete spiked the ball so hard that female opponents were knocked down.

The Department highlighted that “The presence of this male athlete presented a safety concern for female athletes and provided SJSU’s volleyball team with an unfair physical advantage.”

In one instance, seven all-women’s teams from other universities opted to forfeit their matches rather than compete against SJSU with a male athlete on the roster, prioritizing safety and equality.

The OCR has proposed a resolution agreement for SJSU to rectify these violations, which includes various measures such as issuing apologies to impacted teams and adopting a biological basis for the definitions of “male” and “female” in sports.

• Implement a “biology-based” interpretation of male and female, clarifying that biological sex is unchangeable and announcing this publicly.
• Commit to separating sports and facilities based on biological sex to align with Title IX.
• Ensure compliance with Title IX without delegating obligations to any external entities.
• Restore individual records and titles to female athletes affected by male competitors, along with personalized apologies from SJSU.
• Extend apologies to all women who participated in women’s volleyball alongside a male athlete during certain seasons.
• Apologize to those who chose to forfeit matches against SJSU to prioritize safety.