Latest news with #CaliforniaDepartmentOfEducation
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
California violated Title IX over trans athletes, Trump administration says
The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday formally declared California in violation of Title IX for allowing transgender females to compete in girls' and women's sports. 'Although Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was 'deeply unfair' to allow men to compete in women's sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes' well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,' U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. The administration gave California's Department of Education 10 days to agree to several changes or 'risk imminent enforcement action.' Those changes include immediately barring biological males from girls' and women's sports and rescinding all titles awarded to trans female athletes. Title IX, a civil rights law enacted in 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funds, primarily public schools. 'It wouldn't be a day ending in 'Y' without the Trump Administration threatening to defund California,' Gov. Newsom's office said in a statement to KTLA 5 News. 'Now, Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won't stick.' Newsom's office noted that the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is an independent non-profit that does not fall under the purview of his administration. It also stated that the scope of the issue is narrow, with the number of transgender student-athletes in California in the 'single digits.' The Education Department's announcement comes less than a month after AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old transgender athlete from Southern California's Jurupa Valley, won the girls' long jump and triple jump at the state high school track and field championships. President Donald Trump criticized the CIF's decision to allow Hernandez to compete and threatened to withhold federal funding for violating an executive order he signed in February banning transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports. In response to Trump's order, the CIF, which governs high school sports in California, said at the time it would continue allowing trans athletes to compete on teams that match their gender identity, consistent with a 2013 California law. 'The Trump administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law,' McMahon said. 'The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.' Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, has been a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. However, he drew some criticism from the left in March when, on the debut episode of his podcast, he said he believes that transgender athletes participating in girls' sports is 'deeply unfair' – a comment McMahon referenced in her statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
California found in violation of Title IX in clash with Trump officials over transgender athletes
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has found that the California Department of Education and the state's high school sports federation violated civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams. The federal Education Department announced the finding Wednesday and proposed a resolution that would require California to bar transgender women from women's sports and strip transgender athletes of records, titles and awards. It's the latest escalation in the Republican administration's effort to bar transgender athletes from women's sports teams nationwide. If California rejects the proposal, the Education Department could move to terminate the state's federal education funding. 'The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law,' Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. 'The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow.' Title IX is a 1972 law forbidding sex discrimination based in education. California education and sports officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Federal officials opened an investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation in February after the organization said it would abide by a state law allowing athletes to compete on teams consistent with their gender identity. That followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that was intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women's sports. In April, McMahon's department opened an investigation into the California Department of Education over the same issue. Both investigations concluded that state policies violated Title IX. The administration has been invoking the law in its campaign against transgender athletes, launching scores of investigations into schools, colleges and states. It's a reversal from the Biden administration, which attempted to expand Title IX to provide protections for transgender students. A federal judge struck down the expansion before Trump took office in January. The administration's proposed resolution would require California to notify schools that transgender athletes should be barred from girls athletic teams and that all schools must 'adopt biology-based definitions of the words 'male' and 'female.'' The state would also have to notify schools that any conflicting interpretation of state law would be considered a violation of Title IX. Athletes who lost awards, titles or records to transgender athletes would have their honors restored under the proposal, and the state would be required to send personal apology letters to those athletes. A similar resolution was offered to Maine's education agency in a separate clash with the administration over transgender athletes. Maine rejected the proposal in April, prompting a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to terminate the state's federal education funding. Under federal guidelines, California's education office and the sports federation have 10 days to come into compliance or risk enforcement action. The federation separately tested a pilot policy at a state track meet in May, allowing one extra competitor in three events featuring high school junior AB Hernandez, who is trans. The organization announced the change after Trump took to social medial to criticize Hernandez's participation. The Justice Department said it would investigate Hernandez's district and the state to determine if Title IX was being violated. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
