The U.S. Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against the California Department of Education, alleging that the state is violating anti-discrimination laws by allowing transgender athletes to compete in school sports.
The complaint, filed July 9 in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that California’s current policies ‘eviscerate equal athletic opportunities for girls’ by forcing them to ‘compete against boys’ in state athletic events.
A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state is following a 2013 law and that no court has accepted the legal theory cited by the Trump administration in the suit.
In May, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funds to the state if it did not comply with an executive order he signed Feb. 5. The California Interscholastic Federation sought to strike a compromise at the state high school track and field championships by enacting a rule change that allowed athletes assigned female at birth to receive medals based on where they would have finished if a transgender athlete had not competed.
That resulted in the awarding of two titles in the girls’ high jump and long jump — events in which transgender athlete AB Hernandez finished first.
The Trump administration filed a similar lawsuit in May against the state of Maine, alleging similar Title IX violations.
More than half the states have passed laws preventing transgender athletes from competing on female school sports teams, saying they are trying to prevent competitive advantages. However, the laws don’t take into account someone’s athletic ability or how far they are in transitioning to another gender.
Last week, the University of Pennsylvania agreed to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports and strip the record of former swimmer Lia Thomas as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.
The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will weigh in on the issue. The court plans to review Idaho’s and West Virginia’s bans on transgender athletes joining female sports teams this fall, with a ruling likely coming next year.