February 5, 2025 Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports - Executive Order
- Fact Seeker
- Mar 3
- 3 min read
Executive Order Summary: Protection of Women’s Sports
Purpose and Policy:
This executive order establishes a federal policy to ensure that women and girls have access to fair and safe athletic opportunities. It directs agencies to enforce Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.
The order asserts that allowing male athletes to compete in women’s sports is unfair, unsafe, and denies female athletes equal opportunity. It cites federal court rulings from 2024 in Tennessee v. Cardona and Kansas v. U.S. Department of Education, which supported the protection of women’s sports categories based on biological sex.
Key Actions:
1. Enforcement of Title IX Protections in Women’s Sports
The Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of Justice, will take actions to ensure that educational institutions comply with Title IX by:
Rescinding a 2024 rule that allowed gender identity-based participation in sports.
Enforcing regulations that reserve women’s sports and locker rooms for biological females.
Prioritizing enforcement actions against schools and athletic organizations that require female athletes to compete against or share facilities with male athletes.
Federal funding may be rescinded from educational institutions that fail to comply with the order.
2. Review and Enforcement of Sports Policies
A Presidential task force will convene within 60 days to work with:
Major athletic organizations and governing bodies.
Female athletes who have been negatively impacted by male participation in women’s sports.
State Attorneys General to establish best practices for enforcing women’s sports protections.
The Department of State will adjust policies related to international sports competitions and immigration:
The U.S. will withdraw support for sports programs that base female participation on gender identity rather than sex.
The U.S. will advocate for sex-based sports categories at the United Nations and other international bodies.
Immigration policies will be reviewed to restrict the entry of male athletes seeking to compete in women’s sports in the U.S.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be encouraged to modify rules to ensure that Olympic women’s sports categories are based on biological sex rather than gender identity or hormone levels.
Context and Implications:
Title IX Background: Since its enactment in 1972, Title IX has significantly increased female participation in sports. In 1971, fewer than 300,000 girls participated in high school sports; by 2019, that number exceeded 3.4 million.
Policy Reversals:
In 2021, the Biden administration issued guidance allowing transgender athletes to compete based on gender identity.
In April 2024, the Department of Education attempted to formalize these changes, but federal courts blocked the rule in multiple states.
International Precedents:
World Athletics (track and field) and World Aquatics (swimming) have banned transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in female categories.
The IOC allows individual sports to set their own policies, some of which require testosterone suppression.
Implementation & Legal Considerations:
The order is subject to available funding and must comply with existing laws.
It does not create new legal rights but directs federal agencies to enforce existing Title IX protections.
A severability clause ensures that if any part of the order is struck down, the rest remains in effect.
This summary provides a factual, non-partisan overview of the order’s objectives, legal basis, and potential effects.
Writer's Note: Summary made with the use of AI tools for editing and quick processing, facts checked against the order before publishing.
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