Federal agency gives Maine final warning to ban trans athletes from girls' sports
The U.S. Department of Education has given Maine a final warning to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order to ban trans athletes from girls' sports.
The DOE sent a letter to the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) on Monday advising a final deadline of April 11 to address the issue or risk a second referral to the Department of Justice. The Department of Health and Human Services already referred Maine to the DOJ last week.
"The Maine Department of Education's indifference to its past, current, and future female athletes is astonishing. By refusing to comply with Title IX, MDOE allows—indeed, encourages—male competitors to threaten the safety of female athletes, wrongfully obtain girls' hard-earned accolades, and deny females equal opportunity in educational activities to which they are guaranteed under Title IX," the letter read.
"Under prior administrations, enforcement was an illusory proposition. No more. The Trump-McMahon Education Department is moving quickly to ensure that federal funds no longer support patently illegal practices that harm women and girls."
Fox News Digital has reached out to MDOE for comment.
HHS's Office for Civil Rights announced Friday that it had referred Maine's "noncompliance" with Title IX rules to the DOJ for enforcement, including the MDOE, Maine Principal's Association and Greely High School, where a trans athlete who won a girls' pole vault competition attends.
The Maine School Administrative District 51, home to Greely High School, where a transgender athlete incited national controversy after winning a girls' pole vault competition in February, said Thursday it was not complying and will instead "continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act."
The Maine Principals' Association said in a statement it is also "bound by the law, including the Maine Human Rights Act, which our participation policy reflects."
Maine has become a national battleground over the issue shortly after the state indicated in early February that it would not follow Trump's executive order.
The situation involving the trans athlete at Greely High School attracted national attention after Maine Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby identified the athlete by name with a photograph in a social media post. Libby was later censured by the Maine legislature, and she has since filed a lawsuit to have it overturned.
The issue with Maine came to a head at a meeting of the National Governors Association on Feb. 20, when Trump threatened to cut federal funding to the state for not banning biological males from girls' and women's sports.
The next day, Mills' office responded with a statement threatening legal action against the Trump administration if it withheld federal funding from the state. Then Trump and Mills verbally sparred in a widely publicized argument at the White House during a bipartisan meeting of governors.
Since then, multiple protests against Mills have been held outside the state Capitol, and the Maine University System has cooperated with the Trump administration to ensure no trans athletes compete in women's sports after a temporary funding pause.
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