Latest news with #AB1266
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Justice Department to investigate if California is violating Title IX over transgender athletes
(This story has been updated to add new information.) The Department of Justice said it will investigate whether a California law is violating Title IX, just a day after President Donald Trump warned he'd cut federal funding to the state for allowing transgender women and girls to compete in women's sports. The Department of Justice said it sent 'letters of legal notice,' including to state officials, that it is opening an investigation to determine whether Title IX is being violated by California's AB 1266, which requires that students be allowed to participate in sex-segregated school programs like sports teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, regardless of their gender listed on their records. Title IX is a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, said the Department of Education. The letters were sent to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and the California Interscholastic Federation, according to a news release on Wednesday, May 28. Additionally, the Jurupa Unified School District is a "target of this investigation" and was sent a letter of notice from the Department of Justice about the Title IX probe, according to a clarification issued to media later Wednesday. Jurupa Unified School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The California Department of Education cannot comment on a pending investigation, said Scott Roark, a public information officer. "We remain committed to defending and upholding California laws and all additional laws which ensure the rights of students, including transgender students, to be free from discrimination and harassment," the state attorney general's press office said in an emailed statement to the Desert Sun. "We will continue to closely monitor the Trump Administration's actions in this space." According to the news release sent by the Justice Department, the investigation is also to determine whether California and its 'senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district' are 'engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex.' Earlier this year, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced it would investigate the California Interscholastic Federation about transgender female student athletes participating in women's and girls' sports. The announcement comes after the president said in a post on Truth Social on May 27 that California 'continues to allow 'Men to play in women's sports illegally.'' The post referred to a transgender female student athlete in California, although it did not name the student. That student is reportedly a Jurupa Valley High School athlete. Trump's post said 'large-scale federal funding will be held back, maybe permanently' if an executive order, presumed to be one he signed in February, called Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports, is not followed. 'In the meantime, I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, not to allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals,' the post read. 'This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' Related: Trump blasts transgender Riverside County girl being allowed in CIF state track finals USA TODAY reported in February that the executive order directs the Department of Education to pursue "enforcement actions" under Title IX, yet some legal experts question whether the Trump administration's interpretation of the law would hold sway in court. The Department of Justice said in its press release that it has filed a statement of interest in support of a lawsuit that challenges AB 1266, which was passed in 2013. 'The letters of legal notice were sent at the time the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in federal court in support of a lawsuit filed by and on behalf of girls' athletes to advance the appropriate interpretation of Title IX to ensure equal educational opportunities and prevent discrimination based on sex in federally funded schools and athletic programs,' the press release said. The California Interscholastic Federation announced on Tuesday, May 27, that it was implementing a pilot entry process for the upcoming 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships held in Clovis. 'Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section's automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,' according to the announcement shared on social media. While the California Interscholastic Federation did not directly respond to the Desert Sun's emailed request for comment regarding the investigation from the Department of Justice, the Desert Sun was provided with a follow-up statement pertaining to its pilot entry process. According to the news release, 'a biological female student athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark will also be advanced to the finals' in the high jump, triple jump and long jump qualifying events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, if necessary. 'Additionally, if necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event. 'The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,' the news release said. In California, it's estimated that only 1.93% of children ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender, according to a 2022 report from the Williams Institute, which describes itself as conducting independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy based at the UCLA School of Law. Additionally, in California, it's estimated that less than 1% of adults 18 years old and older identify as transgender. The Hill reported that NCAA President Charlie Baker said last year he was aware of 'less than 10' transgender athletes out of the thousands of athletes in the U.S. in NCAA schools. Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@ This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: DOJ to investigate California over transgender student athletes
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Has Trump responded to transgender student athlete's wins at CIF state track meet?
A Jurupa Valley High School transgender athlete swept into a national and political firestorm earned first and second place in several events at the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships late May. AB Hernandez placed first in the girls high jump and girls triple jump and second in the girls long jump at the state championships held in Clovis May 30 and May 31. National attention has been fixed on the Southern California student athlete after President Donald Trump warned he'd cut federal funding to California if the state continued to allow transgender women and girls to compete in women's sports days before the state championships. While Trump's post did not name Hernandez, news reports quickly linked the president's comments to the Jurupa Unified high schooler. Hernandez shared the podium with her cisgender competitors, USA TODAY reported. It comes after the California Interscholastic Federation announced rule changes that allowed 'biological female' student athletes to receive the medal for the podium placement they would have earned had a transgender female athlete not competed. Hernandez also was part of a three-way tie for first in the high jump after all three competitors cleared the same height. The awards ceremonies after the events did not produce any protests or disruptions – according to New York Times reporting from the meet in Clovis – as some had feared if Hernandez won a state title. Trump has not shared anything on Truth Social, X or Facebook regarding Hernandez's placements at the state championships as of the morning of Sunday, June 1. The president previously said in a Truth Social post on May 27 that 'large-scale federal funding will be held back, maybe permanently' if the executive order he signed in February isn't followed. Called 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports,' the executive order targets transgender women and girls participating in women's sports. Trump also said in that Truth Social post on May 27 that he was 'ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow' the athlete, presumed to be AB Hernandez, to compete in a state finals event. The Jurupa Valley High School student's accomplishments come days after the Department of Justice announced that it was opening an investigation to determine whether state officials, the California Interscholastic Federation and Jurupa Unified School District are 'engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex.' The Department of Justice said it is investigating whether Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs, is being violated by California's AB 1266, which requires that students be allowed to participate in sex-segregated school programs like sports teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, regardless of their gender listed on their records. Legal notice about the Department of Justice's Title IX-investigation was sent to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Jurupa Unified School District and the California Interscholastic Federation. USA TODAY reporter Steve Gardner contributed to this story. Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@ This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: SoCal student at center of transgender athlete debate wins at CIF
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trump — not trans athletes — is the real threat to women's sports
Despite what you may hear in conservative media or from the White House, it's Donald Trump — not transgender athletes — who poses a true threat to women's sports. Trump, who threatened to 'protect' women 'whether the women like it or not,' has weaponized hatred toward transgender people for political gain, borrowing a bigoted strategy used by other extremist movements (like Nazi Germany, for example). And this week, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the state of California because it's allowing a trans woman to participate in high school track-and-field finals. Trump has also announced a Title IX probe into the state for allowing trans participation in sports more broadly. As NBC 4 Los Angeles reported: The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced an investigation into whether a California law that allows transgender athletes to compete in girls high school sports violates the landmark Title IX federal civil rights law. The DOJ said it sent letters of legal notice to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the state's high school sports governing body, and the Jurupa Unified School District, which the agency said is a target of the investigation. The investigation will determine whether California's School Success and Opportunity Act, or AB 1266, conflicts with Title IX, the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools or educational programs that receive funding from the U.S. government. For the record, Trump and the Republican Party's insistence that trans women's participation in women's sports constitutes a threat to the sanctity of women's sports is not supported by reputable science. Back in 2022, I wrote about a Harvard University panel that featured multiple experts on women's sports, who all pointed to things like patriarchal leadership structures, poor equipment and lack of media coverage as the real source of woe for women's sports programs and athletes. None of them mentioned trans competitors as a concern. So there's a deep irony in Trump using Title IX rules, which are designed to prohibit gender-based discrimination, to crusade against trans athletes. That's because, as ESPN reported in March, Trump's attempts to close down the Department of Education threatens the existence of the very sports he's claiming to defend. Specifically, the outlet reported, the closure threatens the department's Office for Civil Rights, with a purview that includes enforcing Title IX rules that provide support for girls' and women's sports programs: The Office for Civil Rights determines how K-12 schools and colleges and universities are supposed to provide equal opportunities for female athletes, which includes equitable financial aid, promotion, coaching salaries, equipment and travel, among other factors. The Trump administration has shut down the Education Department's regional Office of Civil Rights in California and fired all of its staff. Attorneys who remain at the agency have complained about their office being used as a weapon to wage right-wing culture wars. If one were truly concerned about making sure women's sports programs survive and thrive, it simply doesn't make much sense to fire the officials whose jobs are dedicated, in part, to that goal. Nonetheless, Trump's gutting of the Department of Education undermines the federal agency most responsible for supporting women's sports programs — all while he launches bogus investigations that allow him to pay lip service to defending women. This article was originally published on
USA Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
DOJ probes California over transgender athletes after Trump threatens funding
DOJ probes California over transgender athletes after Trump threatens funding Show Caption Hide Caption Justice Department sues Maine over transgender athletes Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a lawsuit against Maine's Department of Education over the state's refusal to ban transgender athletes. PALM SPRINGS, CA — The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will investigate whether a California law is violating Title IX after a transgender high school athlete won track events to qualify for the state track and field championships. In a May 28 news release, the Justice Department said it had sent legal notices to state officials, saying it is opening an investigation to determine whether Title IX is being violated by California's School Success and Opportunity Act, or AB 1266. The announcement came just a day after President Donald Trump warned he would cut federal funding to the state for allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. The state law requires that students be allowed to participate in sex-segregated school programs like sports teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, regardless of their gender listed on their records. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance, according to the Education Department. The letters were sent to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and the California Interscholastic Federation, the Justice Department said. In a clarification issued on May 28, the department said the Jurupa Unified School District is a "target of this investigation" and was sent a letter of notice about the Title IX probe. 4 tell their stories in their own words: Transgender athletes face growing hostility Jurupa Unified School District did not immediately respond to the Desert Sun's, part of the USA TODAY Network, request for comment. The California Department of Education cannot comment on a pending investigation, said public information officer Scott Roark. "We remain committed to defending and upholding California laws and all additional laws which ensure the rights of students, including transgender students, to be free from discrimination and harassment," the state attorney general's press office said in a statement to the Desert Sun. "We will continue to closely monitor the Trump Administration's actions in this space." According to the Justice Department, the investigation will also determine whether California and its "senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district" are "engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex." Earlier this year, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights announced it would investigate the California Interscholastic Federation about transgender student athletes participating in women's and girls' sports. What did Trump say about transgender student athletes in California? Trump said in a May 27 post on Truth Social that he planned to speak with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he accused of "continuing to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS.'" The post referred to the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Masters Meet, where a transgender athlete won the girls' triple jump and long jump competitions, advancing to the state finals set for May 30 and 31. Trump added that "large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently" if an executive order he signed Feb. 5 seeking to bar transgender student athletes from playing women's sports is not followed. He did not specify which funding streams he would target. 'In the meantime, I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, not to allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals,' Trump said in the post. 'This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' Controversial T-shirt ban: Ban on 'only two genders' shirt remains after Supreme Court declines case USA TODAY reported in February that the executive order directs the Department of Education to pursue "enforcement actions" under Title IX. But some legal experts question whether the Trump administration's interpretation of the law would hold sway in court. The Justice Department said in a news release that it has filed a statement of interest in support of a lawsuit challenging AB 1266, which was passed in 2013. "The letters of legal notice were sent at the time the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in federal court in support of a lawsuit filed by and on behalf of girls' athletes to advance the appropriate interpretation of Title IX to ensure equal educational opportunities and prevent discrimination based on sex in federally funded schools and athletic programs," the news release states. California Interscholastic Federation announced changes to upcoming state championships The California Interscholastic Federation announced on May 27 that it's implementing a pilot entry process for the upcoming 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships held in Clovis, a city in Fresno County. 'Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section's automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,' according to the announcement shared on social media. While the California Interscholastic Federation did not directly respond to a request for comment regarding the investigation from the Justice Department, the Desert Sun was provided with a follow-up statement about the pilot entry process. What does the 'T' in LGBTQ+ mean? Transgender, nonbinary communities explained. According to the news release, 'a biological female student athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark will also be advanced to the finals' in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump qualifying events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, if necessary. 'Additionally, if necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event. 'The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,' the news release added. Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
DOJ launches Title IX investigation into trans athletes in California girls' sports
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it is opening an investigation into whether Title IX, a federal civil rights law, is being violated by AB 1266, a California law that permits transgender females to participate in female sports teams at state schools. Letters were sent to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and the California Interscholastic Federation, a state organization that oversees high school sports, the department announced. 'The investigation is to determine whether California, its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district are engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex,' a news release stated. This announcement comes one day after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding from California over a transgender high school track and field athlete who qualified over the weekend for the state finals. Mother of girl, 4, receiving treatment in L.A. speaks out against life-threatening deportation to Mexico In a post on Truth Social, Trump railed against 16-year-old AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School, who won the girls' long jump and triple jump events at the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section Masters on May 24, qualifying for the state championships that will take place May 30 – 31, The Hill reported. Hours after Trump's announcement, the CIF announced a change aimed at ensuring all student-athletes have the ability to compete. The new process would allow 'any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section's automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet,' to compete in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships. 'The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,' the organization said in a statement. In February, Trump signed an executive order that states that 'it is the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women's sports' and threatens to 'rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.' California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. The law was signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013. According to Newsom's office, out of the 5.8 million students in the state's K-12 public school system, the number of active transgender student-athletes is estimated to be in the single digits. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
