Wayland school officials are revising the town’s Title IX policy and procedures in response to a federal court decision vacating the Biden administration’s expanded 2024 rules.
Ronnie Kessler, the district’s Title IX coordinator, said the government was essentially reverting to the rules that applied under the first Trump administration. The most significant changes in 2024 impacted transgender students and staff, and a school’s obligation to respond to complaints. The 2024 rule broadened protections to explicitly include gender identity and sexual orientation, while the current rule does not explicitly address sexual orientation or gender. The 2024 rule stated that schools must respond to potential sex discrimination and off-campus conduct if they have substantial control over the context and the conduct has a substantial effect on the educational program. The current rule limits a school’s obligation to respond to incidents that occur within its “education program or activity.”
Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. Its purpose was to ensure that “no person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In April 2024, the Biden administration’s Department of Education finalized new Title IX rules that included explicit protections for LGBTQ+ students based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Several states sued to block the 2024 rules, and federal courts issued injunctions that stopped the rules from taking effect in more than half the country on their effective date of August 1, 2024.
In January 2025, a federal judge in Kentucky vacated the entire 2024 rule, stating that the Department of Education exceeded its authority. The department acknowledged that this ruling applies nationwide and confirmed it would enforce the 2020 rule, which was enacted during the first Trump administration.
In February 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order emphasizing a biological definition of sex, aligning with the federal court’s rationale for striking down the 2024 rule when Trump “demanded an end to the insanity of men in women’s sports.”
However, the current administration later announced on September 23 that it dropped a proposal to roll back Title IX protections in sports and education programs at schools that receive federal funding. More than two dozen agencies enforce Title IX, including the Energy Department, which in May, sought to rescind regulations that allow all students to try out for all noncontact athletic teams when schools don’t have both boys’ and girls’ teams. For example, a school could no longer allow a female athlete to try out for the golf team that was formerly considered a boy’s team, if the school does no have a girls’ golf team or a boy would no longer be able to play field hockey.
Wayland separates the duties of administering Title IX. Kessler handles all the complaints regarding sexual discrimination, which is not limited to sports. The high school athletic department ensures and monitors that boys and girls receive equal sports opportunities.
Kessler said they are in the process of rewriting Wayland’s Title IX procedures. Ryan said she had not seen the new procedures yet, and “until we have the updated policies finalized, I can’t speak to if or how it will change the sports that students will be able to participate in. Rule 43 of the MIAA [Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association] rules deals specifically with gender and participation, and, as a member school, we are also bound by those rules (as well as state and federal laws).”
How Title IX has been applied
Kessler said she has not received any complaints regarding the treatment of transgender students in the two years she has been in her position. Wayland High School assistant athletic director Erin Ryan said that they have had transgender males participate in single-sex sports and there were no issues. She said that transgender males have participated in football, cross-country, soccer, wrestling, and track and field during the 10 years she has been assistant athletic director.
However, she said Wayland has faced objections from high schools that refused to play their coed field hockey team because there were two boys on the team. She does not feel that this is fair to the girls. She said that sends the wrong message, implying that “girls are not good enough” and “boys are better.” Some of these coaches believe the boys are stronger and more dangerous, and therefore, the girls need more protection. On the other hand, she said, some of the girls are more skilled and can outmaneuver the boys. She added that when the coaches on another team forfeit the game, according to the MIAA, the forfeit shows up as a loss on the team’s record.
Wayland’s all-girls’ field hockey team has played opposing teams with boys on them, and won, according to Ryan. She said that a few years ago, the female team captains encouraged boys to try out for the field hockey team because they felt it would encourage the girls to get stronger and play harder.
According to Ryan, if a high school offers boys’ and girls’ teams for the same sport, the athlete must play on the team corresponding to the gender they identify with. (Although not yet determined, the new Title IX changes could affect transgender athletes.) Wayland creates coed teams when they can’t offer a sport for each sex, generally because there are not enough students of a specific gender to complete a team.
The current high school coed teams are field hockey, golf and wrestling. Until last year, a girl was on the wrestling team each year. Ryan said wrestling is becoming more popular among girls. Since wrestling contests are by weight class, she did not feel that it was an issue if girls wrestled boys. Girls also have an opportunity to wrestle other girls in an annual tournament. This also applies to girls on the golf team. Although the Wayland coed team plays in the fall, the girls can play against other girls in the spring tournament. Ryan emphasized that all athletes must try out and are selected for their ability.
Measuring compliance
Title IX addresses gender equality in three key areas: proportionality, the history of expansion of underrepresented populations, and accommodating diverse interests. Ryan said Wayland offers girls’ field hockey in place of football. Although some transgender men have played football, no girl has tried out for that sport, according to Ryan.
Wayland conducts self-audits to ensure equal treatment for opportunities, facilities, coaching and other resources. Ryan said that they take all this into account when they are working on the budget. They are not required to measure dollars for each sport because some are more expensive, she said. Still, they determine if there is appropriate equipment, facilities and coaching for each sport.
Kessler said Title IX applies not only to sports but also to gender discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. She said she receives fewer than a handful of complaints annually, and none of them have been sports-related. Some examples of complaints she gave were a staff member complaining about another staff member’s sexist behavior or about the use of pronouns.
The schools have no policy about pronoun use, Kessler said. Although she is responsible for gender discrimination issues from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, the complaints that she recently received were from the elementary schools. She investigates all complaints, and they are confidential.
