Department of Education opened Title IX investigations into Maryland state agency and three school districts over trans-inclusive policies

On June 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened Title IX investigations into the Maryland State Department of Education, Montgomery County Public Schools, Prince George's County Public Schools, and Frederick County Public Schools. According to OCR, the investigations will determine whether the districts violated Title IX through statewide guidance and district policies that allow transgender students to compete on athletic teams and use locker rooms, restrooms, and overnight accommodations consistent with their gender identity. The complaint OCR cited alleges that when other students objected to sharing sex-separated spaces, the burden fell on them to seek alternative facilities.

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said allowing students "to access sex-separated programs and facilities based solely on self-asserted 'gender identity' is deeply troubling and raises significant legal concerns," pledging to "fully investigate these allegations and take appropriate action to ensure compliance with federal law." The Department announced the probes on the fifty-fourth anniversary of Title IX's signing, framing the enforcement as protecting women and girls in sports.

The Maryland investigations were part of a coordinated OCR enforcement wave against trans-inclusive school policies. In the same period, the Department opened Title IX investigations in North Carolina and against three Michigan districts, issued Letters of Impending Enforcement Action to three Kansas districts, and sent warning letters to districts in Colorado and Kansas. Title IX, enacted in 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs; prior federal guidance interpreted it to protect transgender students, an interpretation the current administration has reversed. Because violations can result in termination of federal funding, the simultaneous targeting of multiple jurisdictions applies significant financial pressure to reshape school policy on gender identity through enforcement rather than legislation.