WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration sued the California Department of Education on Wednesday for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law.
The move escalates an ongoing battle between the Republican administration in Washington and Democratic-led California over trans athletes competing in girls and women's sports.
The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department says California's transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. The department says California's rules ''are not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.''
''These discriminatory policies and practices ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous ‘gender identity,''' the lawsuit says. "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.''
California has a more than decade-old law on the books that 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.
Trump criticized the participation of a transgender high school student-athlete who won titles in the California track-and-field championships last month. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter after the meet that the sports body running the final violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution by allowing trans girls to compete against other female athletes.
The federal Education Department earlier this year launched an investigation into California's policies allowing athletes to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The agency said last month that the policies violate Title IX, and it gave the state 10 days to agree to change them. But the state this week refused.
Trump also sparred with Maine's Democratic governor over the state's transgender-athlete policies. Gov. Janet Mills told the president in February, ''We'll see you in court,'' over his threats to pull funding to the state over the issue. His administration filed a lawsuit in April alleging Maine violated Title IX by allowing trans girls and women to compete against other female athletes.
