Federal laws including Title IX, which governs access to education, and Title VII, which concerns employment, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. In short, educational institutions and employers must provide equal opportunities to both men and women.

There is a split in the circuits as to whether the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex also includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Even within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which has recognized claims of discrimination based on gender nonconformity as a form of sex discrimination, judges have reached differing conclusions as to whether claims of discrimination on the basis of gender identity are covered by existing law.

In 2017, it appeared that the U.S. Supreme Court might resolve this split in authority. During the Obama administration, the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools stating its positon that Title IX's prohibition against sex discrimination encompasses discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The Department of Education instructed educational institutions that they should not treat a transgender student differently from the way they treat other students with same gender identity. According to the Department of Education, “A desire to accommodate others' discomfort cannot justify a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class of students.”