Trump administration sues California over trans athletes in girls’ sports
City News Service
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KESQ) – The U.S. Department of Justice today sued the state of California, warning that by allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological females in high-school sports, the state was putting billions of dollars in federal educational funding at risk in continuing a practice the Trump administration contends is discriminatory, demeaning and violates civil rights law.
According to the complaint, filed in federal court in Santa Ana, California’s policies and practices “ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous `gender identity.’ The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition.”
The suit accuses the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation of engaging in illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes by allowing males to compete against them. The DOJ alleges the state’s policies deprive girls of the equal education and athletic opportunities afforded to them by federal law’s Title IX prohibition against sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.
“California is on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of history,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California said in a statement. “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.”
California officials deny the state’s policy is breaking the law. Earlier this week, the state refused demands by the Trump administration to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s school athletic teams. State officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The suit says that the U.S. Department of Education’s allocation of funds to California for the current year totals nearly $44.3 billion, of which about $3.8 billion remains available for use by the state’s education department.
In June, President Donald Trump threatened California with possible fines and loss of federal education funds for allowing a transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley High School to compete in a state track and field meet.
“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,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “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.”
The DOJ contends that allowing transgender athletes to compete against biological females “is not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.”
The federal government alleges that such competition “erodes the integrity of girls’ sports, diminishes their competitive experience, and undermines the very purpose of Title IX: to provide equal access to educational benefits, including interscholastic athletics.” Despite warnings from the U.S. Department of Education, the CDE and CIF “continue to require California schools to allow boys to compete against girls,” the complaint states.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon posted on X that “California won’t get away with allowing males to take girls’ athletic opportunities away.”
CDE has authority over CIF and local school districts’ interscholastic athletic policies, and CIF oversees 1.8 million students and over 750,000 student-athletes in grades 9 through 12, the lawsuit noted.