California collegiate sports org faces federal probe over possible Title IX violation

The California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) is under an investigation over whether its transgender participation policy violated Title IX, officials said Thursday.

The Department of Education and the Justice Department’s Title IX Special Investigations (Title IX SIT) Team. The announcement came a day after the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights launched 18 Title IX investigations into school districts across the U.S. and two days after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on efforts to protect women’s and girls’ sports.

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A demonstrator holds a sign outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The fact that a Community College Athletic Association has a ‘Transgender Participation Policy’ is a stunning indictment of our culture,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a news release. “Women’s sports are for women. Yet California’s Governor Gavin Newsom — despite admitting the truth on a podcast — continues to put ideology above the safety of and fairness for his own students. The Trump Administration will not tolerate policies that erase women’s rights.

“The Title IX SIT looks forward to investigating this matter to ensure every woman has equal access to educational programs and athletic opportunities—because fairness and safety are non-negotiable.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the California Community College Athletic Association.

Officials called out the organization’s policy regarding transgender athletes.

A protester for protecting women’s sports gathers outside the Supreme Court on Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Groups from both sides of the debate gathered on Tuesday morning to protest while two cases that prohibit transgender girls from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams are heard inside the Supreme Court. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

EDUCATION DEPT LAUNCHES 18 TITLE IX PROBES AFTER SCOTUS HEARS ARGUMENTS IN EFFORTS TO PROTECT WOMEN’S SPORTS

“A trans[gender] female…or non-binary student-athlete who has completed at least one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment…may compete on a women’s team.”

Officials said a complaint was made to the OCR, claiming the policy discriminated against at least three female athletes “on the basis of sex by allowing a male athlete to participate on the women’s volleyball team at a member college and access locker facilities for women during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.”

The complaint added that the organization “ignored female students’ complaints about the harms caused to females when male students participate in female sports.”

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It’s unclear which 3C2A schools were implicated.

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