Image CreditBreccan F. Thies / The Federalist
The Trump administration has sent a “final warning” to the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) over its “ongoing refusal to comply with Title IX” as it continues to allow male athletes to compete against women in sports.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent the letter to MDOE stating it is in violation of Title IX and giving MDOE until April 11 to comply. If they do not, the case will be handed over to the Department of Justice.
“The Maine Department of Education’s indifference to its past, current, and future female athletes is astonishing. By refusing to comply with Title IX, MDOE allows — indeed, encourages — male competitors to threaten the safety of female athletes, wrongfully obtain girls’ hard-earned accolades, and deny females equal opportunity in educational activities to which they are guaranteed under Title IX,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a press release. “Under prior administrations, enforcement was an illusory proposition. No more. The Trump-McMahon Education Department is moving quickly to ensure that federal funds no longer support patently illegal practices that harm women and girls.”
The warning comes some weeks after the Department of Education already found Maine in violation of Title IX. The department issued a “proposed resolution agreement” for the state to enter by March 29.
MDOE has not entered the agreement, which requires it to order all schools to comply with Title IX and tell them they are forbidden from “allowing males to participate in any athletic program” or to enter any private space “designated for females.” The agreement also directs MDOE to stipulate that the terms “man” and “woman” must be understood “in the context of the facts that there are only two sexes.” MDOE would also have to agree to restore stolen sports records to the rightful winners (female athletes who were forced to compete against men) and remove any guidance that allowed males to compete in sports in the first place.
Department of Justice proceedings could result in the termination of federal education funds to Maine.
Maine is being scrutinized by the federal government from several angles regarding its obstinance on various transgender-related issues. Several different departments are investigating the state on the Title IX issue, and, as The Federalist reported, Maine schools are being investigated for actively hiding students’ gender confusion from their parents.
Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.
