The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking "to enforce Title IX and protect California female student athletes from unfair competition and reckless endangerment by male participation on female high-school sports teams," according to a government announcement.
According to the complaint, the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation have engaged in illegal sex discrimination against female student-athletes by allowing males to compete against them, depriving these girls of the equal education and athletic opportunities afforded to them by federal civil rights law. Thus, the suit seeks declaratory, injunctive and damages relief for violations of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking "to enforce Title IX and protect California female student athletes from unfair competition and reckless endangerment by male participation on female high-school sports teams," according to a government announcement.
According to the complaint, the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation have engaged in illegal sex discrimination against female student-athletes by allowing males to compete against them, depriving these girls of the equal education and athletic opportunities afforded to them by federal civil rights law. Thus, the suit seeks declaratory, injunctive and damages relief for violations of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
As alleged in the complaint, the U.S. Department of Education’s “current allocation of funds to CDE for fiscal year 2025 totals approximately $44.3 billion, of which approximately $3.8 billion remains available for drawdown by CDE, including both discretionary grants and formula grants.”
“The Governor of California has previously admitted that it is ‘deeply unfair’ to force women and girls to compete with men and boys in competitive sports,” U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi said, per the release. “But not only is it ‘deeply unfair,’ it is also illegal under federal law. This Department of Justice will continue its fight to protect equal opportunities for women and girls in sports.”
“Title IX was enacted over half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination. The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces,” said assistant attorney general Harmeet Dhillon. “Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
California missed a Monday deadline to comply with the Trump administration's mandate that the state ban transgender participation in girls' and women's athletics.
Related: California Refuses to Comply With Trump Demand on Transgender Athletes
“California is on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of history,” said U.S. attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Women deserve dignity, respect and an equal opportunity to compete on their own sports teams. The time for talk is over. California must comply with Title IX and end its civil rights violations against women. No person, no state, is above the law.”
In a statement cited by public radio station KQED in San Francisco, California governor Gavin Newsom’s office said the CIF and the state Education Department are following existing state law, which he said is in line with 21 other states’ laws and doesn’t violate Title IX.
“No court has adopted the interpretation of Title IX advanced by the federal government and neither the governor, nor they, get to wave a magic wand and override it,” Newsom’s office said via email. “Unlike Donald Trump, California follows the law.”
Newsom is not named in the lawsuit.
As reported by KQED, California state law requires public schools to allow students to participate in all school activities, including sports teams, that match their gender identity. Pushback against it, as well as similar legislation in other states, intensified during the 2024 presidential campaign, when opposition to transgender athletes’ participation in sports became a linchpin of Trump’s platform.
“Transgender youth are at the center of this administration’s cruel and discriminatory policies,” said Heron Greenesmith, deputy director of policy at the Transgender Law Center, according to KQED. “Their attempts at wielding Title IX against the very students it is supposed to protect is characteristic of a government that has no issues with continuing to attack an already marginalized group, push a harmful and misinformed narrative about transgender youth, and create confusing and hostile conditions for students and school[s].”
