The Trump administration is withholding millions of dollars in federal funding from universities that allow transgender students to play sports, accusing schools of violating Title IX – while at the same time, directing the Department of Education to pause existing Office of Civil Rights investigations and leave countless survivors of sexual violence without protection or support. 

In response, Emma Grasso Levine, Senior Manager of Title IX Policy and Programs at the leading Title IX advocacy project Know Your IX (a survivor- and youth-led program of Advocates for Youth), issued the following statement:

“The Trump administration’s hypocrisy with regard to Title IX is staggering. While the President withholds federal funding from universities that support transgender students – essentially blackmailing institutions into actively discriminating against a marginalized group in the name of Title IX – countless survivors of sexual violence are left with unresolved complaints and zero federal support. 

Title IX protects all students, including transgender student athletes, from discrimination on the basis of sex. If President Trump truly cared about Title IX and those it protects, he would fully fund and staff the Department of Education, resume investigations into existing Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaints, and reopen regional OCR offices. 

Survivors of sexual violence, pregnant and parenting students, and LGBTQI+ students need elected officials to step up and fulfill Title IX’s promise of educational opportunity for all – and to stop wielding Title IX as a cudgel to keep universities in line with the President’s discriminatory agenda.”

Advocates for Youth is a 501(c)3 organization that champions efforts that help young people make informed decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates for Youth boldly advocates for a more positive and realistic approach to adolescent sexual health, focusing its work on young people ages 14-24 in the U.S. and around the globe.

For Immediate Release: May 1, 2025

Contact: Eleanor Naiman, eleanor.naiman@advocatesforyouth.org