University of Pennsylvania signs OCR Title IX resolution agreement, strips Lia Thomas's records
- Date
- Actor
- University of Pennsylvania; U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
- Agency
- Department of Education (ED)
- Type
- Institutional compliance
Summary
After OCR found Penn in violation of Title IX on April 28, 2025 over transgender swimmer Lia Thomas's 2021–22 participation, and after roughly $175 million in federal funding was suspended, Penn signed a resolution agreement committing to: adopt "biology-based" definitions of male and female under Title IX; bar athletes assigned male at birth from women's teams and women-only intimate facilities; restore to female athletes any individual records, titles and recognitions Thomas had held; and issue personalized letters of apology to affected female swimmers. Penn annotated its records page to note Thomas competed under then-current eligibility rules.
Status
In effect; the first Title IX resolution agreement of the second term to require retroactive record revision. (See also section 5.)
As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.
Sources
- whyy.org/articles/penn-transgender-athletes-ban(opens another site)
- ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-university…(opens another site)
- thedp.com/article/2025/07/penn-federal-government-title-ix-settlement(opens another site)
Cite this action
Press Release, U.S. Dep't of Educ., U.S. Department of Education Announces the University of Pennsylvania Has Entered into a Resolution Agreement to Resolve its Title IX Violations (July 1, 2025), https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-university-of-pennsylvania-has-entered-resolution-agreement-resolve-its-title-ix-violations.
Short form: Press Release, U.S. Dep't of Educ., U.S. Department of Education Announces the University of Pennsylvania Has Entered into a Resolution Agreement to Resolve its Title IX Violations (July 1, 2025), https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-university-of-pennsylvania-has-entered-resolution-agreement-resolve-its-title-ix-violations.