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The University of Pennsylvania has agreed to ban transgender athletes, resolving the civil rights case sparked by swimmer Lia Thomas, the Department of Education said Tuesday.
Penn agreed to a number of "action items" to resolve what the department calls Title IX violations, the Education Department said in a statement. Those items include restoring "to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories;" issuing a public statement saying the university will comply with Title IX and will not "allow males to compete in female athletic programs;" and sending a "personalized letter of apology" to any female swimmers who were affected.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the University of Pennsylvania for comment. CBS News Philadelphia is working to connect with Thomas for a statement or an interview.
Penn posted a statement on its website Tuesday that said, in part, that the school "will comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 … as interpreted by the Department of Education, in all of its athletics programs." The statement also said Penn Athletics locker rooms and bathrooms will be "strictly separated on the basis of sex and comparably provided to each sex."
That post appears to be the public statement required in the agreement with the Education Department.
Penn also said in a separate statement attributed to University President J. Larry Jameson that the agreement "brought to a close an investigation that, if unresolved, could have had significant and lasting implications for the University of Pennsylvania."
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement, "Today's resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women's sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes."
McMahon continued, "Today is a great victory for women and girls not only at the University of Pennsylvania, but all across our nation. The Department commends UPenn for rectifying its past harms against women and girls, and we will continue to fight relentlessly to restore Title IX's proper application and enforce it to the fullest extent of the law."
Before this agreement, the Trump administration said Penn violated Title IX, the law that guarantees women equal opportunities in university athletics, by allowing Thomas to compete on the women's swim team and use team facilities.
Penn's statement about the agreement also said the school "has always followed – and continues to follow – Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules."
Thomas racked up notable achievements in Division I women's swimming in the 2022 NCAA season, coming in first in the 500-meter freestyle at the Swimming and Diving Championships that year. She had other first-place finishes in events at the Ivy League Championships held that year at Harvard's Blodgett Pool.
Before she began transitioning in 2019, Thomas competed on the men's swimming team and followed NCAA and Ivy League rules for the process. Thomas had support from the Ivy League and Penn at the time, along with several teammates. But other athletes penned an anonymous letter asking the NCAA to bar Thomas from competing on the women's team.
Penn's statement explaining the agreement with the Education Department said the school complied with NCAA rules regarding athlete eligibility in the 2021-2022 swim season, but also said, "We acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules. We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time." School officials will review school records from that time and indicate who will hold the records under the new rules.
Laura Fay is a digital content producer at CBS News Philadelphia. Laura previously worked as a reporter, editor and audience director at The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering education.
