Probe Finds Biden Education Department Defied Courts to Push Gender Ideology in Schools

Senior officials in President Joe Biden’s Department of Education defied a federal court order in launching investigations of gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination in schools, according to a federal watchdog finding.

The Office of Special Counsel released a report this week that confirmed the disclosure of Education Department whistleblower Timothy Mattson, who said the department’s Office of Civil Rights unlawfully processed complaints about gender identity discrimination after a federal judge halted an executive order from going into effect that was the basis for the investigations.

According to Mattson’s disclosure, the Office for Civil Rights investigated a school that restricted athletic competition to biological sex.

In another case, the department opened a probe of a school that declined to change a student’s name and pronouns in academic records and restricted bathroom use to biological sex.

Some of those officials remain in positions of authority at the department under the Trump administration, according to a whistleblower advocacy group.

“The substantiated allegations—that senior leadership directed or facilitated the circumvention of a binding federal injunction over multiple years and across multiple offices—raise serious concerns that demand accountability,” Charles N. Baldis, chief counsel for the Office of Special Counsel, wrote.

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“While ED has outlined some corrective steps, I believe that more robust action is required to ensure accountability and prevent recurrence,” Baldis wote.

Department officials followed President Biden’s executive order in processing these complaints, but this was contrary to a federal court injunction.

On his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2021, Biden signed an executive order expanding Title IX protections to cover gender identity and sexual orientation. Title IX is a law that says no person shall be excluded from participation or discriminated against on the basis of sex.

In response to the order, 22 states sued in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

In July 2022, U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. granted a preliminary injunction blocking the federal government from implementing guidance documents that expanded Title IX based on the January 2021 executive order. The judge also denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss.

In June 2024, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the preliminary injunction.

The report says that despite the court injunction, seven of the 12 regional Department of Education offices opened cases for investigation or mediated cases in violation of the injunction.

Education Department officials also went against the advice of the department’s legal counsel and the Justice Department’s opinion, according to Empower Oversight, a whistleblower group that represented Mattson.

The whistleblower disclosure says that leadership from the Office for Civil Rights repeatedly gave staff instructions to continue with cases and suggested other employment might be necessary for those not on board, according to Empower Oversight.

“This report is a clear vindication for Tim and the rule of law,” Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt said in a public statement.

“The Office of Civil Rights defied a direct federal court order and continued to target schools for lawful policies,” Leavitt continued. “Unfortunately, however, staff in senior supervisory positions who aided, abetted, or quietly complied with the illegal actions are still in positions of authority. The federal government needs to hold them accountable.”

The office’s final report comes about two years after Mattson made his disclosure.

Among the report’s recommendations were to “complete an internal investigation and impose appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including removal.”

The Education Department did not respond to inquiries for this story.

In April 2024, Empower Oversight filed a disclosure with the Office of Special Counsel on behalf of Mattson, which asserted the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights continued to process complaints under Title IX on issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation in states covered by the court’s injunction.

The allegations were referred to then-Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s office.

The Education Department’s first draft investigation report omitted certain information, causing the Office of Special Counsel to request a supplemental response from the agency.

“ED’s subsequent investigation revealed significant shortcomings in the initial report and response to OSC, including a failure to accurately assess readily available materials, conduct additional relevant interviews, and to forthrightly respond to the whistleblower’s core allegation of whether OCR, under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Catherine Lhamon, failed to abide by the injunction,” the OSC report says.