Defending Education Files Civil Rights Complaint against California Interscholastic Federation and Two California School Districts for Title IX Violations

On July 2, 2026, Defending Education filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), Jurupa Unified School District (JUSD) and Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) for apparent violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. DE filed the complaint as an interested third-party organization on behalf of a parent whose daughters attend CUSD schools and compete in CIF athletic competitions against JUSD students.

Title IX was passed specifically to rectify longstanding discrimination against women and level the educational playing field. But CIF, JUSD, and CUSD violate that promise of equality by refusing female students access to single-sex intimate spaces and sports teams. Not only does CUSD permit males to enter female bathrooms and locker rooms, but its leadership, according to the parent, has stated it has no intention of following the Trump Administration’s interpretation of Title IX unless ordered by a court to do so. CUSD also denied the parent’s opt-out requests, which sought to shield her daughters from males in the CUSD’s private middle and high school facilities. What’s more, CIF and JUSD force female student-athletes to compete against male student-athletes on female public high school sports teams, and this parent’s oldest daughter was forced to compete just a few weeks ago against a male in a state track championship. 

CIF, JUSD, and CUSD are prioritizing the desires of self-professed “transgender girls” over the girls for whom Title IX itself was passed–a position even more spurious after the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. B.P.J, and Little v. Hecox. We look forward to the Department of Education’s investigation into these educational associations and the rectification of policies that have become all too common on campuses across the nation. 

Read the full complaint below: