Latest news with #JurupaUnifiedSchoolDistrict
New York Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
DOJ launches Title IX probe into California over state law allowing trans athletes to play women's sports
The Justice Department opened an inquiry Wednesday into whether a California state law allowing transgender student athletes to compete in women's sports violates federal Title IX rules against sex discrimination. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the Jurupa Unified School District and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) were informed of the investigation in 'letters of legal notice' sent by the DOJ. The CIF oversees high school sports in the state, and the Jurupa Unified School District is home to the school where a transgender track athlete recently won titles in the girls' long jump and triple jump. 3 Trump signed an executive order in February that threatened to strip federal funding from states that don't bar transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. REUTERS '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,' the DOJ said in a statement. The probe was opened in response to a lawsuit filed by the families of two girls at a Riverside, Calif., high school, alleging that the state statute 'is harming hundreds – if not thousands – of female students by removing opportunities for female athletes to be champions in their own sports, robbing them of podium positions and awards, and creating unsafe and intimidating environments in their bathrooms and locker rooms' — and is at odds with Title IX. One of the plaintiffs in the case – an 11th-grade female cross-country athlete – claims she was removed from her position on the Martin Luther King High School girls' varsity cross-country team to make room for a biological male athlete and, as a result, was prevented from participating in elite competitions and being recruited by colleges and universities. The lawsuit further alleges that the Riverside Unified School District, and Martin Luther King High School's principal, assistant principal and athletic director 'violated the constitutional rights' of the 11th-grader and another plaintiff, a 9th-grader, by ordering them to remove t-shirts protesting the girl's removal from the cross-country team. 3 The investigation was launched in response to a lawsuit alleging discrimination over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports. AP 'Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,' Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. 'This Division will aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities,' she added. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office and Bonta's office did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. 3 California Attorney General Rob Bonta was among several state officials notified by the DOJ of the investigation. REUTERS The investigation announcement comes one day after President Trump warned that he would consider stripping California of at least some federal funding if it continues to allow transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. 'California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow 'MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN'S SPORTS,'' Trump fumed on Truth Social Tuesday. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS. Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to,' he added. Back in February, Trump signed an executive order that threatened to strip federal funding from states that don't bar transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. Hours after Trump's post, CIF announced that it would expand the number of permitted participants at the upcoming track and field championship meet in order to allow 'any biological female student-athlete' who initially failed to qualify for the event, because of the participation of transgender athletes, to compete.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Justice Department to investigate California, back lawsuit over transgender kids in sports
The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether California, its interscholastic sports federation and the Jurupa Unified School District are violating the civil rights of cisgender girls by allowing transgender students to compete in school sports, federal officials announced Wednesday. The Justice Department is also throwing its support behind a pending lawsuit alleging similar violations of girls' rights in the Riverside Unified School District, said U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who oversees much of the Los Angeles region, and Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Transgender track athletes have come under intense scrutiny in recent months in both Jurupa Valley and Riverside, with anti-LGBTQ+ activists attacking them on social media and screaming opposition to their competing at school meets. Read more: Two transgender athletes navigate teen life on front lines of raging national debate Essayli and Dhillon, both Californians appointed under President Trump, have long fought against transgender rights in the state. Their announcements came one day after Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from California for allowing transgender youth to participate in sports. The legal actions are just the latest attempts by the Trump administration to scale back transgender rights nationwide, including by bringing the fight to California — which has the nation's largest queer population and some of its most robust LGBTQ+ legal protections — and targeting individual student athletes in the state. Both Trump in his threats Tuesday and Essayli and Dhillon in their announcement of the investigation Wednesday appeared to reference the recent success of a 16-year-old transgender track athlete at Jurupa Valley High School named AB Hernandez. Trump wrongly suggested that Hernandez had won "everything" at a recent meet — which Hernandez didn't do. In a comment to The Times on Wednesday, Hernandez's mother, Nereyda Hernandez, said it was heartbreaking to see her child being attacked "simply for being who they are," and despite following all California laws and policies for competing. "My child is a transgender student-athlete, a hardworking, disciplined, and passionate young person who just wants to play sports, continue to build friendships, and grow into their fullest potential like any other child," her mother said. The mother of another transgender high school track athlete in Riverside County who is the subject of the pending lawsuit the Justice Department is now backing declined to comment Wednesday. The Justice Department said it had sent letters of legal notice to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the California Interscholastic Federation and Jurupa Unified. The U.S. Department of Education had previously announced in February that it was investigating the CIF for allowing transgender athletes to compete. Dhillon said the two federal departments would coordinate their investigations. Bonta has defended state laws protecting transgender youth, students and athletes, and advised school systems and other institutions in the state, such as hospitals, to adhere to state LGBTQ+ laws — even in the face of various Trump executive orders aimed at curtailing the rights of and healthcare for transgender youth. On Wednesday, his office said it remained "committed to defending and upholding California laws." Scott Roark, a spokesman for the California Department of Education, said his agency could not comment. Jacquie Paul, a spokesperson for Jurupa Unified, said the school system had yet to receive the letter Wednesday, and "without further information" could not comment. A spokesperson for the Riverside Unified School District also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. The CIF, in a statement, said it "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." Read more: Trump threatens to strip federal funds to California over transgender youth athletes However, the sports federation also changed its rules for the upcoming 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, saying a cisgender girl who is bumped from qualifying for event finals by a transgender athlete would still be allowed to compete and would also be awarded the medal for whichever place they would have claimed were the transgender athlete not competing. The changes brought renewed criticism from advocates on both sides of the political issue, including Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw. Shaw is a Trump supporter running for state schools superintendent who has challenged pro-LGBTQ+ laws statewide and supports the latest investigation. She said that, in making the changes, CIF was "admitting" that girls "are being pushed out of their own sports." Dhillon said her office's "pattern or practice" investigation will consider whether California's laws and the CIF policies violate Title IX, a 1972 federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. Title IX has been used in the past to win rights for transgender people, but the Trump administration has taken a strikingly different view of the law — and cited it as a reason transgender rights must be rolled back. Dhillon said the law "exists to protect women and girls in education," that it is "perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies," and that her division would "aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities." Essayli said in a statement that his office would "work tirelessly to protect girls' sports and stop anyone — public officials included — from violating women's civil rights." LGBTQ+ advocates, civic institutions in California and many Democratic lawmakers in the state have denounced the framing of transgender inclusion in sports as diminishing the rights of women and girls and accused Trump and other Republicans of attacking transgender people — about 1% of the U.S. population — simply because they make for an easy and vulnerable political target. Read more: Feeling threatened in U.S., transgender Americans look abroad Kristi Hirst, co-founder of the public education advocacy group Our Schools USA, said the Justice Department's actions amounted to "bullying minors and using taxpayer resources to do so," and that a "better use of public dollars would be for the Justice Department to affirm that all kids possess civil rights, and protect the very students being targeted today." The "pattern or practice" investigation is the second such investigation that Dhillon's office has launched in the L.A. region in as many months. It's also investigating Los Angeles County over its process for issuing gun permits. Essayli's separate decision to back the Riverside lawsuit adds another wrinkle to an already complicated case. The group Save Girls' Sports is suing over the inclusion of a transgender athlete in a girls' track meet in October, a decision they allege unfairly bumped a cisgender girl from competition, and over a decision by high school officials to block students from wearing shirts that read, "IT'S COMMON SENSE. XX [does not equal] XY," a reference to the different chromosome pairings of biological females and males. Julianne Fleischer, an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom who is representing Save Girls' Sports, said Wednesday that Essayli's decision to weigh in on behalf of the group was welcome. "This case has always been about common sense, fairness, and the plain meaning of the law," Fleischer said in a statement. "Girls' sports were never meant to be a social experiment. They exist so that girls can win, lead and thrive on a level playing field." It was unclear how the case would be affected by Essayli's interest. The state and school district are asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed. A hearing is scheduled next month. Essayli, formerly a state Assembly member from Riverside County, made his name in politics in part by attacking what he has called the "woke" policies of California's liberal majority in Sacramento. Shortly before he was appointed as U.S. attorney last month, other California lawmakers blocked a bill he introduced that would have banned transgender athletes from female sports. Hernandez, the mother of the targeted Jurupa Valley athlete, said Trump and other officials were bullying children by "weaponizing misinformation and fear instead of embracing truth, compassion and respect," and asked Trump to reconsider. "I respectfully request you to open your heart and mind to learn about the LGBTQ+ community," she said, "not from the voices of fear or division, but from the people living these lives with courage, love and dignity." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Justice Department to investigate California, back lawsuit over transgender kids in sports
The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether California, its interscholastic sports federation and the Jurupa Unified School District are violating the civil rights of cisgender girls by allowing transgender students to compete in school sports, federal officials announced Wednesday. The Justice Department is also throwing its support behind a pending lawsuit alleging similar violations of girls' rights in the Riverside Unified School District, said U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who oversees much of the Los Angeles region, and Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Transgender track athletes have come under intense scrutiny in recent months in both Jurupa Valley and Riverside, with anti-LGBTQ+ activists attacking them on social media and screaming opposition to their competing at school meets. Essayli and Dhillon, both Californians appointed under President Trump, have long fought against transgender rights in the state. Their announcements came one day after Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from California for allowing transgender youth to participate in sports. The legal actions are just the latest attempts by the Trump administration to scale back transgender rights nationwide, including by bringing the fight to California — which has the nation's largest queer population and some of its most robust LGBTQ+ legal protections — and targeting individual student athletes in the state. Both Trump in his threats Tuesday and Essayli and Dhillon in their announcement of the investigation Wednesday appeared to reference the recent success of a 16-year-old transgender track athlete at Jurupa Valley High School named AB Hernandez. Trump wrongly suggested that Hernandez had won 'everything' at a recent meet — which Hernandez didn't do. In a comment to The Times on Wednesday, Hernandez's mother, Nereyda Hernandez, said it was heartbreaking to see her child being attacked 'simply for being who they are,' and despite following all California laws and policies for competing. 'My child is a transgender student-athlete, a hardworking, disciplined, and passionate young person who just wants to play sports, continue to build friendships, and grow into their fullest potential like any other child,' her mother said. The mother of another transgender high school track athlete in Riverside County who is the subject of the pending lawsuit the Justice Department is now backing declined to comment Wednesday. The Justice Department said it had sent letters of legal notice to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the California Interscholastic Federation and Jurupa Unified. The U.S. Department of Education had previously announced in February that it was investigating the CIF for allowing transgender athletes to compete. Dhillon said the two federal departments would coordinate their investigations. Bonta has defended state laws protecting transgender youth, students and athletes, and advised school systems and other institutions in the state, such as hospitals, to adhere to state LGBTQ+ laws — even in the face of various Trump executive orders aimed at curtailing the rights of and healthcare for transgender youth. On Wednesday, his office said it remained 'committed to defending and upholding California laws.' Thurmond did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Scott Roark, a spokesman for the California Department of Education, said his agency could not comment. Jacquie Paul, a spokesperson for Jurupa Unified, said the school system had yet to receive the letter Wednesday, and 'without further information' could not comment. A spokesperson for the Riverside Unified School District also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. The CIF, in a statement, said it '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.' However, the sports federation also changed its rules for the upcoming 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, saying a cisgender girl who is bumped from qualifying for event finals by a transgender athlete would still be allowed to compete and would also be awarded the medal for whichever place they would have claimed were the transgender athlete not competing. The changes brought renewed criticism from advocates on both sides of the political issue, including Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw. Shaw is a Trump supporter running for state schools superintendent who has challenged pro-LGBTQ+ laws statewide and supports the latest investigation. She said that, in making the changes, CIF was 'admitting' that girls 'are being pushed out of their own sports.' Dhillon said her office's 'pattern or practice' investigation will consider whether California's laws and the CIF policies violate Title IX, a 1972 federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. Title IX has been used in the past to win rights for transgender people, but the Trump administration has taken a strikingly different view of the law — and cited it as a reason transgender rights must be rolled back. Dhillon said the law 'exists to protect women and girls in education,' that it is 'perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,' and that her division would 'aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities.' Essayli said in a statement that his office would 'work tirelessly to protect girls' sports and stop anyone — public officials included — from violating women's civil rights.' LGBTQ+ advocates, civic institutions in California and many Democratic lawmakers in the state have denounced the framing of transgender inclusion in sports as diminishing the rights of women and girls and accused Trump and other Republicans of attacking transgender people — about 1% of the U.S. population — simply because they make for an easy and vulnerable political target. Kristi Hirst, co-founder of the public education advocacy group Our Schools USA, said the Justice Department's actions amounted to 'bullying minors and using taxpayer resources to do so,' and that a 'better use of public dollars would be for the Justice Department to affirm that all kids possess civil rights, and protect the very students being targeted today.' The 'pattern or practice' investigation is the second such investigation that Dhillon's office has launched in the L.A. region in as many months. It's also investigating Los Angeles County over its process for issuing gun permits. Essayli's separate decision to back the Riverside lawsuit adds another wrinkle to an already complicated case. The group Save Girls' Sports is suing over the inclusion of a transgender athlete in a girls' track meet in October, a decision they allege unfairly bumped a cisgender girl from competition, and over a decision by high school officials to block students from wearing shirts that read, 'IT'S COMMON SENSE. XX [does not equal] XY,' a reference to the different chromosome pairings of biological females and males. Julianne Fleischer, an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom who is representing Save Girls' Sports, said Wednesday that Essayli's decision to weigh in on behalf of the group was welcome. 'This case has always been about common sense, fairness, and the plain meaning of the law,' Fleischer said in a statement. 'Girls' sports were never meant to be a social experiment. They exist so that girls can win, lead and thrive on a level playing field.' It was unclear how the case would be affected by Essayli's interest. The state and school district are asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed. A hearing is scheduled next month. Essayli, formerly a state Assembly member from Riverside County, made his name in politics in part by attacking what he has called the 'woke' policies of California's liberal majority in Sacramento. Shortly before he was appointed as U.S. attorney last month, other California lawmakers blocked a bill he introduced that would have banned transgender athletes from female sports. Hernandez, the mother of the targeted Jurupa Valley athlete, said Trump and other officials were bullying children by 'weaponizing misinformation and fear instead of embracing truth, compassion and respect,' and asked Trump to reconsider. 'I respectfully request you to open your heart and mind to learn about the LGBTQ+ community,' she said, 'not from the voices of fear or division, but from the people living these lives with courage, love and dignity.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
DOJ investigating California over transgender athletes law
The Justice Department on Wednesday said it is investigating whether a near-decade-old law in California violates federal laws against sex discrimination by allowing transgender student-athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. In a news release, the department said it had launched an inquiry into whether a 2013 state law, A.B. 1266, conflicts with Title IX, the landmark civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs that receive government funding. President Trump and administration officials have argued the law bars transgender girls from competing on girls school sports teams. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday it had sent letters of legal notice to California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which governs high school sports in the state and the Jurupa Unified School District, where a 16-year-old transgender track-and-field athlete has for months been the target of protests. Representatives for Bonta, the CIF and the Jurupa Unified School District did not immediately return a request for comment. A spokesperson for the state Department of Education said it cannot comment on a pending investigation. The inquiry, the DOJ said, will establish '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.' 'Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,' said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. 'This Division will aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities.' DOJ's announcement comes one day after Trump publicly threatened to withhold federal funding from California if it continued allowing transgender girls to play on girls sports teams in defiance of his February executive order proclaiming the government opposes 'male competitive participation in women's sports.' In a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning, Trump railed against AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School in Southern California who qualified for three state championship events at the CIF's Southern Section Masters meet on May 24. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' Trump wrote in the post, which does not refer to Hernandez by name. He ordered local authorities to block the student from competing in the state finals this weekend and said he planned to speak with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) about the issue, which he made central to his campaign's closing arguments last year. A spokesperson for Newsom said the governor received a call Tuesday afternoon from Trump but could not take it because he was attending another event. 'He hopes to speak with him soon,' the spokesperson said. They declined to comment on DOJ's investigation. Newsom, a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has voiced some openness to limiting transgender athletes' participation in the state. He said in the debut episode of his podcast, 'This is Gavin Newsom,' in March that he believes transgender girls in girls sports are 'deeply unfair.' The following month, speaking to reporters in Modesto, Calif., Newsom said he would be 'open' to a conversation about eligibility restrictions for transgender student-athletes if it were conducted 'in a way that's respectful and responsible and could find a kind of balance.' Newsom's office said the governor was 'encouraged' by a new CIF policy announced Tuesday that would allow more girls to compete in the state's high school track-and-field championships this month. In a news release, CIF said that it was changing its competition rules to extend entry to 'any biological female student-athlete' who would have 'earned the next qualifying mark' in the high jump, long jump and triple jump — events in which Hernandez qualified — for the state championships in Clovis, Calif., on May 30 – 31. 'The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes,' the group said. A spokesperson for the organization did not return a request for clarification about whether the policy change applies to all events or only to ones where a transgender girl qualified. 'CIF's proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing,' said Izzy Gardon, Newsom's communications director. Tuesday's announcement from the DOJ also comes as the department submitted a statement of interest in a lawsuit challenging AB 1266, signed by former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D). Two teenage girls and their families sued California officials and their local school district last year after they were reprimanded for wearing shirts to school that read 'Save Girls' Sports' and 'It's Common Sense. XX ≠ XY' to protest the state's inclusion of transgender athletes. The girls, who compete for their schools' girls cross-country team and are represented by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, amended their complaint in January to challenge the law itself. 'At the core of the Title IX regulations is an abiding interest in creating opportunities for women and girls to enjoy equal athletic opportunities on a level playing,' the Justice Department wrote in its statement to the court on Wednesday. 'Allowing a biological male-transgender female to compete on a girls' cross-country team upsets that level playing field and interferes with the opportunity for girls to compete in a sport where mere seconds can mean the difference between wins and losses.' Roughly half the country prohibits transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams that match their gender identity, though court rulings have blocked enforcement of laws in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and West Virginia. New transgender girls in New Hampshire expanded their legal challenge to the state's restrictions on trans athletes in February to include the Trump administration. —Updated at 4:48 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
DOJ investigating California over transgender athletes law
The Justice Department on Wednesday said it is investigating whether a near-decade-old law in California violates federal laws against sex discrimination by allowing transgender student-athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. In a news release, the department said it had launched an inquiry into whether a 2013 state law, A.B. 1266, conflicts with Title IX, the landmark civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in education programs that receive government funding. President Trump and administration officials have argued the law bars transgender girls from competing on girls' school sports teams. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday that it had sent letters of legal notice to California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which governs high school sports in the state and the Jurupa Unified School District, where a 16-year-old transgender track-and-field athlete has for months been the target of protests. Representatives for Bonta, CIF and the Jurupa Unified School District did not immediately return a request for comment. A spokesperson for the state education department said it cannot comment on a pending investigation. The inquiry, DOJ said, will establish '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.' 'Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education. It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,' said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. 'This Division will aggressively defend women's hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities.' DOJ's announcement comes one day after Trump publicly threatened to withhold federal funding from California if it continued allowing transgender girls to play on girls' sports teams in defiance of his February executive order proclaiming the government opposes 'male competitive participation in women's sports.' In a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning, Trump railed against AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School in Southern California who qualified for three state championship events at the CIF's Southern Section Masters meet on May 24. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' Trump wrote in the post, which does not refer to Hernandez by name. He ordered local authorities to block the student from competing in the state finals this weekend and said he planned to speak with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) about the issue, which he made central to his campaign's closing arguments last year. A spokesperson for Newsom said the governor received a call Tuesday afternoon from Trump but could not take it because he was attending another event. 'He hopes to speak with him soon,' the spokesperson said. They declined to comment on DOJ's investigation. Newsom, a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has voiced some openness to limiting transgender athletes' participation in the state. He said in the debut episode of his podcast, 'This is Gavin Newsom,' in March that he believes transgender girls in girls' sports are 'deeply unfair.' The following month, speaking to reporters in Modesto, Calif., Newsom said he would be 'open' to a conversation about eligibility restrictions for transgender student-athletes if it were conducted 'in a way that's respectful and responsible and could find a kind of balance.' Newsom's office said the governor was 'encouraged' by a new CIF policy announced Tuesday that would allow more girls to compete in the state's high school track-and-field championships this month. In a news release, CIF said it decided over the weekend to temporarily alter its competition rules to extend entry to 'any biological female student-athlete' who would have 'earned the next qualifying mark' in their event for the state finals in Clovis on May 30–31. 'The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes,' the group said. A spokesperson for the organization did not return a request for clarification about whether the policy change applies to all events or only to ones where a transgender girl qualified. 'CIF's proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing,' said Izzy Gardon, Newsom's communications director. Tuesday's announcement from DOJ also comes as the department submitted a statement of interest in a lawsuit challenging AB 1266, signed by former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D). Two teenage girls and their families sued California officials and their local school district last year after they were reprimanded for wearing shirts to school that read 'Save Girls' Sports' and 'It's Common Sense. XX ≠ XY' to protest the state's inclusion of transgender athletes. The girls, who compete for their schools' girls' cross-country team and are represented by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, amended their complaint in January to challenge the law itself. 'At the core of the Title IX regulations is an abiding interest in creating opportunities for women and girls to enjoy equal athletic opportunities on a level playing,' the Justice Department wrote in its statement to the court on Wednesday. 'Allowing a biological male-transgender female to compete on a girls' cross-country team upsets that level playing field and interferes with the opportunity for girls to compete in a sport where mere seconds can mean the difference between wins and losses.' Roughly half the country prohibits transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams that match their gender identity, though court rulings have blocked enforcement of laws in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and West Virginia. New transgender girls in New Hampshire expanded their legal challenge to the state's restrictions on trans athletes in February to include the Trump administration.
