After being found in violation of Title IX earlier this month, the Maine Department of Education, Maine Principals Association and Greely High School have all refused to sign a Title IX compliance agreement banning transgender student-athletes in the state. Now, further action by the Department of Justice awaits them.
Related: Maine Officially Charged with Federal Title IX Violation Over Trans Student-Athlete Participation
According to WMTW, Maine School Administrative District No. 51, which encompasses Greely High School, sent a letter confirming that they would not be signing the agreement from the federal government.
“We are writing today to inform our community that MSAD #51 will not be agreeing to the proposed VRA sent to our district. As stated during our Board meeting on March 6th, MSAD #51 will continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA). Compliance with the proposed VRA would be a violation of current Maine law."
A spokesperson for the Maine Principals Association released a similar statement. They said, “We are unable to sign any resolution agreement that would mandate we create a new policy that would violate the law and MHRA."
The organizations had ten days to respond to the letter from the Department of Health and Human Services. That deadline expired yesterday (Thursday).
According to OutKick, this decision by the three organizations is at odds with the opinions of most Maine residents. “the American Parents Coalition surveyed around 600 registered Maine voters, 63 percent of whom said school sports participation should be based on biological sex.”
Related: Maine Legislator Receives Pushback After Posting Pictures of Trans Student-Athlete to Facebook
Rep. Laurel Libby spoke against this decision as well. “Governor Janet Mills, Speaker Ryan Fecteau, and the rest of Maine's Democrat Majority have chosen an extremist agenda over sanity, ignoring the rights and safety of Maine women and girls.” Libby came under fire several weeks ago when she posted a photo of the transgender student-athlete at the center of this issue on Facebook.
Mills told President Trump she would see him in court over this issue, and that is the likely next step in this ongoing saga.
