U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice Announce Title IX Special Investigations Team

On April 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) jointly announced the creation of the Title IX Special Investigations Team (“SIT”).[1] According to the DOE and DOJ, the SIT aims to address the “staggering volume of Title IX complaints” and “ensure timely, consistent resolutions to protect students, and especially female athletes, from the pernicious effects of gender ideology in school programs and activities.”

The SIT will consist of a team of investigators and attorneys drawn from both the DOE and DOJ, as well as other federal agencies. This specialized team is designed to streamline the investigation process for Title IX complaints and ensure that cases are prepared for “ultimate DOJ enforcement.” By combining resources from various departments, the SIT seeks to address the growing number of Title IX cases more efficiently and consistently.

As indicated in the press release, the primary objective of the SIT is to address complaints related to women’s sports and gender-segregated spaces. Both Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Attorney General Pamela Bondi emphasized that the establishment of the SIT aims to expedite investigations and enhance enforcement efforts to “protect female students and athletes” through a collaborative approach between the DOE and DOJ.

The creation of the SIT aligns with the Trump Administration’s previous Executive Orders, such as the February 5, 2025 Executive Order which directed DOE and DOJ to prioritize enforcement of Title IX against educational institutions and athletic associations that require female athletes to compete against or share locker rooms with transgender females. This announcement also comes after DOE recently issued a Letter of Finding of Noncompliance to the Maine Department of Education (“MDOE”), in which it found that MDOE was in violation of Title IX by permitting transgender females to participate in female athletics throughout the state and permitting transgender females to access “female-only locker rooms and bathrooms.” On March 31, 2025, DOE announced that it had issued its “final warning” to MDOE before referring the matter to DOJ for enforcement. 

Should you have any questions about the impact of this guidance on your institution’s practices, please contact Dina Vespia (DVespia@cullenllp.com) at (516) 357-3726, Jennifer McLaughlin (JMclaughlin@cullenllp.com) at (516) 357-3889, Nicole Donatich (NDonatich@cullenllp.com) at (516) 296-9116, or Daniel Parise (DParise@cullenllp.com) at (516) 357-3883.

This advisory provides a brief overview of the most significant updates in the law and does not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between the sender and recipient.

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Footnotes

[1] Press Release, Dep’t of Educ. & Dep’t of Justice, U.S Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice Announce Title IX Special Investigations Team (April 4, 2025), https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-and-us-department-of-justice-announce-title-ix-special-investigations-team.