The Trump administration warned California to revise its policies that allow transgender girls to compete in school sports aligned with their gender identity. Citing a violation of Title IX, the US Department of Education said the state has ten days to comply or face enforcement action, including potential referral to the US Justice Department.
The warning follows recent controversy over a transgender high school athlete’s performance.
Title IX violation
In its findings, the federal education agency stated that California’s Department of Education and its high school athletics governing body are violating Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs receiving federal aid.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement that the administration is committed to “relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls.” She also cited remarks made by Governor Gavin Newsom in March questioning the fairness of trans girls competing in girls’ sports.
The Education Department said that unless California reverses course, it could lose federal funding. It further demanded that state officials apologise to female athletes who lost titles to trans competitors and notify all school athletic programmes receiving federal funds that Title IX bars trans girls from participating in girls’ sports.
Title IX ensures fair treatment and equal opportunity for girls and women in education and sports! #TitleIXMonth pic.twitter.com/2PhUsbytNQ
— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) June 25, 2025
California pushes back
California officials, however, have no plans to alter existing protections.
Liz Sanders, spokesperson for the California Department of Education, stated:
“We believe 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.”
Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Governor Newsom, dismissed the threat as “dramatic, fake, and completely divorced from reality,” calling the Education Department’s letter “a political document designed to intimidate school officials and unlawfully override well-established state laws protecting students.”
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Why the controversy?
The federal government’s findings come in the wake of a state championship in which transgender student AB Hernandez won top positions in the girls’ high jump and triple jump events.
In an unprecedented move, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) also awarded medals to runners-up who would have placed had Hernandez not participated.
The father of a transgender student-athlete in San Luis Obispo County, called the federal move another example of bullying by the administration. “This really isn’t about sports and locker rooms. This is about erasing transgender individuals altogether,” he said, as per AP. His daughter, a rising high school junior, has been on the girls’ track team since freshman year and has mainly received support from within the school.
The standoff is allegedly part of a larger nationwide effort by the Trump administration to restrict transgender rights. However, California law allows students to participate in sex-segregated programs, including sports and bathroom use, based on their gender identity.
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In February, Trump had also signed an executive order banning trans women and girls from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity.
(With inputs from AP)