Trump Administration Sues California in Policy Battle over Transgender Athletes
The issue is the latest fight in a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth, Associated Press reported.
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Just days after the California Department of Education and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) leaders refused to ban transgender athletes from high school sports, the Trump administration sued the state鈥檚 Education Department, the .
The U.S. Department of Education on June 25 said that the state Education Department and the CIF, which governs high school athletics, violated federal law and to bar transgender athlete participation in sports or face legal action.
On Monday, the California agencies .
As threatened, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit, saying California鈥檚 transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.
California鈥檚 high school athletics guidelines allow athletes to participate in sports aligned with their gender identity 鈥� a policy that is consistent with 2013 state legislation that allows students to participate on sports teams .
According to AP, the federal Justice Department said California鈥檚 rules 鈥渁re not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.鈥�
But California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said state law does not align with this interpretation of the federal law.
The issue is the latest fight in a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth, AP reported. For example, some states have limited transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams.
California鈥檚 policy for high schoolers does not have a legal or medical requirement, such as a documented name change or gender-confirming care, for transgender students to compete, . Student participation is based solely on their gender identity or expression.
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