On November 12, 2025, Defending Education (DE) filed a complaint against the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison) with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. DE claims UW–Madison is breaking Title IX, a law that bans sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funds. DE also claims the university is violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which bars government bodies, including public schools, from treating people differently because of their sex.
UW–Madison is the largest college in Wisconsin, with about 50,000 students. It admits that Title IX bans discrimination based on sex, but its policies focus on “gender identity” instead. Its policy UW-6009 says that “students, staff, faculty, and visitors have the right to use the restroom, locker room, shower, or changing facility most safe and comfortable for them, without being harassed or questioned, regardless of gender expression or sex assigned at birth.” That means male students may enter women’s restrooms anywhere on campus.
If women are uncomfortable sharing restrooms with biological males, the university tells them to use one of a limited number of single-person restrooms instead. Forcing women to give up the private spaces Title IX guarantees goes against the purpose, history, and plain text of that law.
This is the second civil rights complaint Defending Education has filed against UW–Madison in 2025. DE urges the Department to investigate every claim in its complaint, fix UW–Madison’s illegal policies and practices, and order the right remedies.
Read the full complaint below:
