Trump administration says California must bar trans girls from girls sports

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Trump administration said Wednesday that California must change its policies allowing transgender girls to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

The U.S. Department of Education said it determined California's education department and governing body for high school sports are violating Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education. The federal government said California must agree to change its policies in 10 days or ''risk imminent enforcement action." The administration could otherwise refer the state to the U.S. Justice Department, the Education Department said.

California, though, said it has no plans to change its policies.

''The California Department of Education believes all students should have the opportunity to learn and play at school, and we have consistently applied existing law in support of students' rights to do so,'' agency spokesperson Liz Sanders said in a statement.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon invoked Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's remarks on his podcast in March questioning the fairness of trans girls competing in girls sports.

''The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law,'' she said in a statement.

She told Fox News the agency may pull federal funding if the state does not comply. The Education Department said the state should apologize and restore awards to girls who lost sports titles to trans athletes, and notify school sports programs that receive federal funding that Title IX prohibits trans girls from participating in girls sports.

The announcement comes weeks after a trans student athlete garnered national attention over her participation in the California high school state track and field championship. The student, AB Hernandez, placed first in the girls high jump and triple jump, and second in the long jump. The California Interscholastic Federation, which ran the meet, awarded gold and silver medals to both Hernandez and other competitors who would have placed had she not participated. It was the first time the federation made such a rule change.

Part of a nationwide battle

The issue is part of a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth in which states have limited transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams, barred gender-affirming surgeries for minors and required parents to be notified if a child changes their pronouns at school. At least two dozen states have laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some of the policies have been blocked in court.

''This really isn't about sports and locker rooms. This is about erasing transgender individuals altogether," said Trevor Norcross, the father of a trans student-athlete in San Luis Obispo County. "Focusing on sports and locker rooms is just a path to get people used to discriminating against transgender youth.''

Norcross' daughter, who will be a high school junior in the fall, has been on the girls track team since she was a freshman. She has received backlash over her participation in recent months, but mainly from parents and advocates outside of the school community, Norcross said.

He said the U.S. Education Department's announcement Wednesday was yet another act of ''bullying by the administration.''

Trump signed an executive order in February aimed at banning trans women and girls from participating on sports teams that align with their gender identity.

But a California law, signed in 2013 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, allows students to participate in sex-segregated school programs, including on sports teams, and use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity.

Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said McMahon's threat to pull federal funding over the state's policy was ''dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality.'' The governor's office said the U.S. Education Department's letter was not ''a serious legal document'' but ''a political document designed to intimidate school officials and unlawfully override well-established state laws protecting students.''

The California Interscholastic Federation declined to respond to the announcement, saying it does not comment on legal matters.

The federation is violating the U.S. Constitution by allowing trans girls to compete in sex-segregated sports consistent with their gender identity, said Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, in a letter after the state track and field finals.

Groups split over federal government's findings

The California Family Council, a conservative group that opposes trans girls' competition in girls sports, applauded the federal government's findings Wednesday.

''This decision is a critical step toward restoring fairness and protecting the integrity of girls' sports in our state," Sophia Lorey, an advocate for the group, said in a statement.

But Equality California, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, said the findings were a ''dangerous distortion of Title IX and a direct attack on transgender youth in California.''

''Let's be clear: this isn't about fairness in sports and never has been — it's about a federal administration weaponizing civil rights laws to target transgender students and force California to comply with their hateful anti-transgender agenda,'' Tony Hoang, the group's executive director, said in a statement.

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Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna