The Education Department said Wednesday that San José State University’s decision to allow a transgender woman to compete on the women’s volleyball team violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

San José State was at the center of a national controversy in 2024 when students on the volleyball team and competing teams objected to the presence of Blaire Fleming, a trans woman who had played for the Spartans since 2022. Fleming’s teammates sued and other teams forfeited games in protest of Fleming.

While Fleming played, NCAA policies and the federal Title IX regulations didn’t explicitly bar transgender athletes from competing in the sport that aligned with their gender identity. However, after taking office, President Trump quickly declared via executive order that the policy of the United States was that there were two sexes—male and female—which are “not changeable.” He followed that directive up with another executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports at federally funded schools and colleges. The NCAA has since revised its policies.

The Education Department opened the SJSU investigation after Trump’s executive order on trans athletes. In addition to allowing Fleming to play, ED’s Office for Civil Rights said, SJSU violated Title IX by failing to promptly investigate complaints from cisgender female athletes and “by taking action that discouraged women from participating in the Title IX process.”

To resolve the investigation, ED demanded that SJSU issue a public statement that in part acknowledges “that the sex of a human—male or female— is unchangeable” and send a personalized apology to every cisgender woman who played on SJSU’s women’s indoor volleyball team from 2022 to 2024 and to those who forfeited. The apology note should express “sincere regret for placing female athletes in that position,” according to the department’s news release.

The Los Angeles Times reported that SJSU has 10 days to respond and could face “imminent enforcement action” if the university doesn’t voluntarily resolve the violations.

An SJSU spokesperson said in a statement that the university was reviewing the department’s finding and proposed resolution agreement.

“We remain committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive educational environment for all students while complying with applicable laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said.