Trump admin sent Maine’s alleged Title IX violation over transgender athletes in girls’ sports to DOJ

Trump administration has escalated its dispute with the state of Maine, referring the alleged violation of Title IX concerning transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 28, 2025.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) determined that Maine’s Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), and Greely High School had violated Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, by allowing transgender girls to compete in female sports, which conflicts with President Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order that applies Title IX based on biological sex.

Maine was given until March 27, 2025, to sign a Voluntary Resolution Agreement that would ban transgender girls from sports, return $187,000 in federal funds, reassign awards won by transgender athletes, and issue an apology for “sex discrimination,” but state officials rejected it, citing compliance with the Maine Human Rights Act, which protects gender identity.

Following a public spat between Trump and Governor Janet Mills, this refusal prompted the HHS OCR to refer the matter to the DOJ, potentially leading to Maine losing federal education funding or facing a legal battle, underscoring a national divide over transgender inclusion in sports, with only two transgender girls currently participating in Maine high school athletics.