- The Department of Justice (DOJ) is poised to take legal action against Maine after a Department of Education (DOE) investigation found the state violated Title IX by allowing biological males to compete in girls' sports.
- Maine refused to comply with a federal directive banning transgender athletes from women's sports by the April 11 deadline, arguing its policy aligns with Title IX and equal protection.
- Assistant AG Sarah Foster asserted that Title IX does not prohibit transgender participation, citing court rulings. The DOE referred the case to the DOJ, accusing Maine of prioritizing "ideology" over student rights.
- Maine risks losing $358 million in federal K-12 funding (10 percent of its budget) as the DOE moves to revoke aid following non-compliance.
- The dispute escalated after a transgender athlete's victory in a girls' pole vault championship prompted scrutiny under Trump's executive order, leading to a clash between Gov. Janet Mills and federal officials.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has intervened in a high-stakes Title IX dispute in Maine, signaling impending legal action against the state for allowing biologically male athletes to compete in girls' sports.
In March, the Department of Education (ED) ruled that Maine violated federal anti-discrimination laws by allowing biological males to compete in girls' sports, following an investigation prompted by a public clash between Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump earlier this year.
On March 31, the ED's Office for Civil Rights issued a final ultimatum: Maine had 10 business days to align with the federal interpretation of Title IX or face a DOJ enforcement action. That deadline passed on April 11.
That same day, Maine officials declared that the state would not comply with a federal directive banning transgender athletes from high school girls' sports. Maine's Assistant Attorney General Sarah Foster even contended in a letter sent to the DOJ that the policy allowing biological male athletes to compete in women's sports is Title IX compliant.
"Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls' and women's sports teams," Foster wrote. "Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds. To the contrary, various federal courts have held that Title IX and/or the Equal Protection Clause require schools to allow such participation."
As a response to the non-compliance, the Education Department referred the case to the DOJ for further legal action.
"The Department has given Maine every opportunity to come into compliance with Title IX, but the state's leaders have stubbornly refused to do so, choosing instead to prioritize an extremist ideological agenda over their students’ safety, privacy, and dignity," ED's Acting Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights Craig Trainor said. "The Maine Department of Education will now have to defend its discriminatory practices before a Department administrative law judge and in a federal court against the Justice Department. Governor Mills would have done well to adhere to the wisdom embedded in the old idiom – be careful what you wish for. Now she will see the Trump administration in court."
Maine stands firm with commitment to participation of biological males in girls' sports
The case stems from a February incident in which Katie Spencer, a transgender high school athlete, won Maine's Class B girls' pole vaulting championship.
Trump confronted Mills over the transgender athlete participation, threatening to withhold federal aid if Maine did not comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from girls' sports. But Mills responded defiantly: "We'll see you in court." (Related: Maine sues USDA over withheld funds in transgender athlete dispute.)
Now, with the escalation of the investigation to the DOJ, the federal education funding, which accounts for 10 percent of Maine's K-12 budget totaling $358 million in 2021 to 2022, could be revoked.
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