Department of Education Launches Multiple Investigations Into Title IX Violations
The U.S. Department of Education has launched multiple investigations into schools and athletic associations for Title IX violations, including schools that allow boys in girls restrooms and sports.
The investigations follow an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, which declares that the practice of letting men compete in women’s sports is “demeaning, unfair and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
The order directs the DOE to remove federal funds from “educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.”
The most recent investigation was launched after the president got into a dustup with Maine Governor Janet Mills over boys taking slots on girls teams, as National Review reported.
When asked whether Maine would follow the executive order, the governor replied the state was “complying with state and federal laws.”
The president then said, “We are the federal law. You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”
According to National Review, “Mills replied that she will see Trump in court as her state openly resists federal law. Maine’s high school sports governing body is continuing to abide by state law regarding athletic eligibility, defying Trump’s order.”
A male high school student recently won Maine’s Class B indoor girls pole vaulting championship, helping his team eke out a one-point victory for the Class B title.
The male sophomore, who goes by the name Katie Spencer, won the event with a vault of 10-6. Two girls, freshman Briella Boudreau and senior Kessa Benner, tied for second and third, 10-0.
As a result, the DOE announced it was looking into the Maine Department of Education “amid allegations that it continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ interscholastic athletics and that it has denied female athletes female-only intimate facilities, thereby violating federal antidiscrimination law.”
Maine’s not the only one being scrutinized for discriminating against girls. Here’s a roundup of more groups the DOE is looking into:
- The DOE announced it was investigating “three entities for suspected Title IX violations: San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor released a statement saying, “This administration will not tolerate the mistreatment of female athletes.”
He added, “The previous administration trampled the rights of American women and girls – and ignored the indignities to which they were subjected in bathrooms and locker rooms – to promote a radical transgender ideology.”
- The education department released a statement that it had also “directed investigations into the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)” after the groups “publicly announced plans to violate federal antidiscrimination laws related to girls’ and women’s sports.”
According to the DOE statement, both groups “announced their intentions to abide by state law as it relates to girls’ and women’s sports in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws. Both state laws allow athletes to participate on teams based on an individual’s subjective gender identity rather than biological sex, even though biological sex is the basis for Title IX protections.”
- The DOE’s Office of General Counsel announced it “sent a letter to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) urging them to restore to female athletes the records, titles, awards, and recognitions misappropriated by biological males competing in female categories.”
- The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to the Denver Public Schools District for violating Title IX when “the District converted a girls’ restroom in East High School to a multi-stall all gender restroom.” The letter goes on to state: “East High School now has an exclusive restroom for male students and no restroom for female students on its second floor.” Not having equal facilities for girls clearly violates their Title IX rights, the letter said, adding that the department would be investigating discrimination at other Denver schools.
- In response to a complaint from America First Legal, the DOE launched an investigation into “the ‘gender identity’ policies of five northern Virginia public school systems – Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Prince William County.”
America First Legal Senior Advisor Ian Prior said in a statement, “A male student in these school districts can wake up, claim to be ‘gender expansive or transgender,’ and then have a pass to use female locker rooms and restrooms. If the female students are uncomfortable sharing those locker rooms and restrooms with that male student, it is the female students who must make alternative arrangements. That is sex discrimination.”
When boys participate in girls sports, they steal victories, scholarships and opportunities to compete. It’s also unsafe. Allowing boys into dressing rooms, showers and restrooms, as an assault on girls privacy, dignity and safety.
For too long, girls and women have been pushed to the sidelines by males claiming to be female. We applaud the Department of Education for launching these investigations and hope for success as they fight transgender ideology and discrimination against girls and women.
Related articles and resources:
The U.S. Department of Education offers resources related to Title IX here and complaint filing information here.
If you’re concerned about what your child is being taught in school, check out this updated, free resource from Focus on the Family and Family Policy Alliance: Equipping Parents for Back-to-School.
We want parents to feel confident and equipped to manage issues affecting public – and private and online – schooling. The FREE downloadable resource helps you be aware of what’s going on in your child’s classroom and offers guidance for how to advocate for your child in the school year ahead.
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