Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2025
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by Alan Jamison
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1 Comments
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The parental rights organization Defending Education published a new report Tuesday revealing that 32 states are now compliant with the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title IX and prohibit males from competing in women’s sports.
While a significant number of states already banned men from participating in women’s athletics before this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 5 that specifically restricted federal funds from going to schools that allow males to compete on women’s teams under Title IX, the landmark civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination. Several states that previously allowed men to compete on women’s teams changed their policies to comply with the order.
States that have banned men from playing in women’s sports since the executive order include New Hampshire, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed a bill into law last year that banned boys from K-12 sports designated for girls, but the state’s interscholastic athletic association officially adopted the ruling in February after the executive order. The interscholastic athletic associations for Pennsylvania and Wisconsin updated their rules that same month.
On February 10, Virginia’s high school athletic association made the same decision to ban males from female sports. Governor Glenn Youngkin praised the move on X.
“Common sense wins!” he posted. “Today, the governing bodies for Virginia’s public and private high school athletics announced they would follow President Trump’s EO to protect girls sports.”
Despite a majority of states now banning men from women’s athletics, 18 states still allow males who claim transgender status to compete on women’s sports teams, stealing opportunities from females. The list of states still not compliant with Title IX includes notable blue states such as California, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
Nicki Neily, who serves as president of Defending Education, posted on X that these states are endangering the safety of their female athletes.
“18 states are still ignoring federal law and letting men compete in women’s sports—putting fairness and safety on the line,” Neily said. “This is an outright defiance of Title IX and a refusal to protect women and girls.”
Maine and California have both pushed back against the administration and refused to follow Title IX. The Department of Education (DOE) is in the process of stripping Maine of federal K-12 funding as a result of the state’s actions.
In April, the administration sued Maine for continuing to allow male athletes to compete on women’s teams. Craig Trainor, who serves as an acting assistant secretary in the DOE, said that the state’s leaders chose to “prioritize an extremist ideological agenda over their students’ safety, privacy, and dignity.”
In June, the federal Department of Education determined that the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation were in violation of Title IX for continuing to allow biological men to compete with women. The administration then sued both entities last week for their violations of Title IX.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
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