The U.S. Department of Education has formally rescinded a 2024 Title IX rule from the Biden administration that expanded protections against sex discrimination and harassment to include gender identity and sexual orientation, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Monday. The action restores the 2020 regulatory text from the first Trump administration, reinstating a policy that recognizes sex only as being born male or female.
Restoration of 2020 Regulations
The move formally places the 2020 regulatory text back into the Code of Federal Regulations. While the Department of Education had announced in January 2025 that it would enforce the first Trump administration’s regulations, Secretary McMahon stated that this formal rescission provides necessary clarification to parents, teachers, students, and schools. Everyone now knows what the rule is and how everyone is going to abide by it,
McMahon told OutKick.
The reversal follows a 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to recognize only two sexes, male and female, and requiring that all anti-sex discrimination enforcement promote that reality. Additionally, the White House has reported that the president ordered the repeal of all regulations violating religious liberty under new U.S. Supreme Court precedents.
Impact on Women’s Sports and Facilities
A primary driver of the repeal is the administration’s position on athletic eligibility. McMahon stated that the action reinforces the view that women’s and girls’ sports should be reserved for females, adding, We’re just acknowledging that boys and men are in boys and men’s sports and girls are in theirs.
The Biden-era rule had redefined sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity, which the Department of Education now asserts allowed men to participate in women’s sports and access female-only housing accommodations, locker rooms, and restrooms. McMahon argued that under the Biden regulations, many of the original rights intended by Title IX were taken away.
The administration has already taken steps to enforce these standards, including:
- Signing the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order on February 5, 2025.
- Referring a Maine case to the Justice Department regarding Title IX compliance.
- Securing an agreement with the University of Pennsylvania to issue apologies and restore records and titles to female athletes following the participation of Lia Thomas on the women’s swimming team.
Legal Context and Enforcement
The Biden-era regulations had already faced significant legal challenges from several Republican-led states. According to the Department of Education, the 2024 rules were enjoined by eight different courts and subsequently vacated by two separate courts. The Trump administration has since dropped several appeals that had been filed against lower court injunctions prior to President Trump returning to office.
Further legal support for sex-based restrictions came on June 30, 2026, when the Supreme Court upheld laws in West Virginia and Idaho that restricted girls’ and women’s sports to females. Secretary McMahon noted that the current regulations now reflect these court orders and Congressional intent.
McMahon warned that there are many kinds of consequences
for schools and states that do not abide by Title IX, pledging to hold accountable any college or school that violates the athletic opportunities, privacy, or rights of girls and women.