President Trump’s executive order effectively barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports relies heavily on a new interpretation of Title IX, the 1972 civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding.
The order directs the Department of Education to investigate schools that do not comply and withdraw federal funding. It also directs the State Department to demand changes within the International Olympic Committee, which has left eligibility rules up to the global federations that govern different sports.
Here is what we know about the order, called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” How does Title IX fit into these arguments?
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination at youth and college-level educational programs that receive federal funding. Because it falls under the executive branch, it is subject to varying interpretations by different administrations that have used it to argue both for and against the inclusion of transgender students.