California refuses to ban trans athletes from school sports despite Trump administration orders
California has refused to ban trans athletes from school sports despite Trump administration orders. (FRED GREAVES/AFP via Getty Images)
California has refused to ban trans athletes from school sports despite Trump administration orders. (FRED GREAVES/AFP via Getty Images)
The California Department of Education has refused to ban trans athletes from school sports despite the Trump administration’s orders.
On Monday (7 July), state education officials refused to follow the anti-trans Trump administration order, which bans trans athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
Federal officials gave the state 10 days to comply with the order and agree to a proposed resolution, with the deadline on 7 July. California state officials rejected the conclusions of the Office for Civil Rights investigation, which found in June that the state violated the rights of female students by allowing trans athletes to compete in sports which fit their affirmed gender identity.
The general counsel for the California agency, Len Garfinkel, wrote: “The California Department of Education… respectfully disagrees with OCR’s analysis and it will not sign the proposed resolution agreement.”
On the same day, Education Secretary Linda McMahon responded on X: “California has just REJECTED our resolution agreement to follow federal law and keep men out of women’s sports.
“Turns out Gov. Newsom’s acknowledgement that ‘it’s an issue of fairness’ was empty political grandstanding,” McMahon wrote, appearing to motion towards California Governor Newsom’s previous U-turn on trans solidarity.
“@CAgovernor, you’ll be hearing from @AGPamBondi,” McMahon concluded.
As per the LA Times, Federal demands issued on 25 June state that California’s failure to comply exposes the state to “imminent enforcement action”, but does not detail what that entails.
The Trump administration further claimed in June that California violated the Title IX civil rights law with its trans-inclusive policy. The US Department of Education (DoE) ruled that California’s current trans-inclusive athletic policies violate Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education.
President Trump has previously threatened to cut federal funding to the state, “maybe permanently”, if his anti-trans executive order is not followed by California.
The US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation in February into the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) after it continued its policy of allowing trans students to compete in school sporting events in line with their affirmed gender.
Legal director at the National Centre for LGBTQ Rights, Shannon Minter, stood by California’s decision. “This administration is targeting California in an attempt to intimidate it into backing away from its strong anti-discrimination laws,” Minter told local outlet The Bee.
“I’m encouraged to see the California Department of Education is standing up to that.”
If this story has affected you, call the Trans Lifeline Hotline to speak to a trans/nonbinary peer operator with full anonymity and confidentiality at (877) 565-8860. Support is available Monday-Friday, 10 AM – 6 PM Pacific, 11 AM – 7 PM Mountain, 12 PM – 8 PM Central, and 1 PM – 9 PM Eastern.
