Associated Press
California officials have rejected the Trump administration’s demands to stop transgender athletes from competing in girls high school sports.
The proposal would have required the state to apologize and restore awards to girls who lost sports titles to trans athletes. It also would’ve required the state to notify school sports programs that receive federal funding that Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education, prohibits trans girls from participating in girls sports.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon posted on X Monday that the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation, a governing body for high school sports, said they would not agree to the recommendations. The state education department did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the federation said it does not comment on legal matters.
The Trump administration unveiled the proposal last month after determining California policies allowing trans girls to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identity violated Title IX. The federal government gave the state 10 days to change its policies or “risk imminent enforcement action.”
McMahon said Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who earlier this year questioned the fairness of trans girls competing in girls sports, would hear from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Turns out Gov. Newsom’s acknowledgment that ‘it’s an issue of fairness’ was empty political grandstanding,” McMahon said.
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