California State University sued the U.S. Department of Education after the agency found San José State had violated Title IX and proposed sweeping settlement terms that CSU calls unlawful overreach. San José State and the broader Cal State system rejected the ED’s demand that the campus adopt the administration’s definitions of sex and issue apologies tied to transgender athlete policies. System leaders framed the complaint as an unprecedented threat to institutional autonomy and warned of federal funding risks if the ED enforces the settlement.