CFA San José Supports University’s Response to Federal Government’s Transphobic Demands 

San José State University (SJSU) CFA members support the university and CSU’s decisions to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and reject the OCR’s Proposed Resolution Agreement to resolve the Title IX investigation of the women’s volleyball team. San José CFA had urged the university not to capitulate to the federal government’s demands.    

The OCR on January 28 transphobically claimed it found that SJSU violated Title IX by allowing a transgender woman to compete in women’s sports and use women’s facilities. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive financial assistance from the federal government. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to LGBTQ people and lower courts have used this to rule on Title IX-related challenges to LGBTQ people. For instance, in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. V. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that the firing of a transgender woman violated Title VII, since “it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” 

SJSU could resolve alleged violations, the OCR said, by accepting an agreement that includes issuing a statement to the SJSU community that adopts the Trump administration’s false and misleading doctrine regarding transgender and gender non-binary persons. Specifically, this doctrine insists on a characterization of the terms “male” and “female” that invisibilizes trans and gender non-binary persons. The agreement would also require banning trans and gender non-binary from collegiate competition and sending an apology to the university’s female volleyball players between 2022 and 2024 and to any women on teams that forfeited to SJSU rather than compete. If SJSU didn’t follow the agreement, the OCR threatened to end federal funding to the university.  

In a March 6 email to the SJSU community, campus president Cynthia Teniente-Matson said SJSU and the CSU sued the federal government to challenge the findings and prevent the federal government from punishing the university, including withholding federal funding. SJSU and CSU are arguing that they followed the law, including decisions from federal courts, and that they are committed to supporting LGBTQ community members. 

“All of our students, faculty and staff deserve to be treated fairly, with the rights and protections granted under federal and state law, including privacy rights, and to live and learn free from discrimination,” Teniente-Matson said in the email. “We respect and value our LGBTQ community members, as we do all members of our community, and we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive, supportive environment that encourages full participation in all aspects of university life without fear of harm or exclusion.” 

The CFA San José Executive Board issued a statement in support of SJSU’s response. 

“We welcome this decision,” said Erik Johnson, CFA San Jose member and San Jose State professor. “The President heard the demands of our students and chapter members, who spoke out loudly through public statements and at the TransTalk Town Hall on February 26. This ordeal and the federal government’s capricious twisting of existing civil rights law has demonstrated how important it is that we preserve non-discrimination language in our contract, including protections for the gender expression and gender identity of all Unit 3 members. CFA is currently fighting to preserve contractual protections from discrimination in the bargaining process — and hopes the Chancellor’s Office will withdraw its current proposal to remove them.” 

Chancellor Mildred García also emailed all CSU employees explaining the decisions. She said SJSU was in full compliance with both Title IX and relevant NCAA regulations. García added that the CSU does not discriminate against or give preference to any individual or group based on gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, nationality, shared ancestry, religion, disability or any other protected status.    

More information about the issue, including the CSU lawsuit, can be found here.