Feds: California Has Violated Civil Rights Of Women

The U.S. Department of Education announced last 25 June that California and the California Interscholastic Federation violated the civil rights of female students on the basis of sex by allowing transgender athletes to compete in school sports according to their gender identity.

Having concluded its investigation, the President Donald Trump administration is calling on California to "voluntarily agree" to change what it determined are "unlawful practices" within 10 days or risk "imminent enforcement action."

"Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was 'deeply unfair' to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

"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. The state must swiftly come into compliance with Title IX or face the consequences that follow."

California Department of Education spokesperson Liz Sanders said in a statement that the state education office "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."

It was not clear exactly how the state would respond to the findings or how much federal education funding is at stake.

"It wouldn’t be a day ending in 'Y' without the Trump Administration threatening to defund California," Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Newsom, said in a statement. "Now Secretary McMahon is confusing government with her WrestleMania days — dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality. This won’t stick."

A spokesperson for California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement that his office was reviewing the proposed resolution and closely monitoring Trump administration officials' actions. "Our office remains committed to defending California laws that protect the rights of all students to inclusive education environments and school athletic programs," the spokesperson said.

In an email, a spokesperson for CIF, an independent, non-profit group, said the organization "does not comment on legal matters."

Triston Ezidore, the Culver City Unified school board president, said the department's finding "does not protect women and girls — it harms them."

"Barring transgender students from participating in sports based on the president of the United States deciding who is 'woman enough' is both discriminatory and unjust. True protection for female athletes means fighting for fairness and inclusion, not using exclusionary definitions to marginalize vulnerable students," he said in an interview with The Times.