DOJ Launches Investigation Into California State Law on Transgender Athletes Competing In Women’s Sports

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday that it sent letters of legal notice to Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Jurupa Unified School District, and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) that it is launching an investigation into California state law on transgender males participating in female sports at state schools.

Specifically, the investigation will be looking into if AB 1266, a 2013 California state law allowing transgender athletes to compete in the gender they transitioned into, violates Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial funding. The suit where the allegations stem from, Save Girls’ Sports V. Thurmond, alleges that AB 1266 unlawfully allows males to participate on female sports teams and to use female spaces, and thus making it both an unfair and unsafe area for female athletes.

“This California statute is harming hundreds – if not thousands – of female students by removing opportunities for female athletes to be champions in their own sports, robbing them of podium positions and awards, and creating unsafe and intimidating environments in their bathrooms and locker rooms,” said the suit.

One plaintiff in the suit, T.S., was an 11th-grade female cross-country athlete and team captain who attended Martin Luther King High School in Riverside.

“T.S. was removed from her position of the girls’ varsity cross-country team to make room for a biological male athlete who did not consistently attend practices and failed to satisfy many of the team’s varsity eligibility requirements,” noted the press release. “As a result, T.S. missed the opportunity to compete at a high-profile meet, lost the right to compete on the varsity level, and missed the opportunity to compete with elite fellow athletes to be recruited by universities and receive other forms of recognition.

“The biological male who replaced T.S. on the girls’ varsity cross-country team recently had transferred from another local high school after breaking that school’s all-time cross-country record for the girls’ cross-country team.”

A DOJ transgender athlete investigation

DOJ officials, led by the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli, said on Wednesday that AB 1266 is a clear violation of women’s civil rights.

“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education.  It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon. “This Division will aggressively defend women’s hard-fought rights to equal educational opportunities.”

“The law is clear: Discrimination on the basis of sex is illegal and immoral,” added Essayli. “My office and the rest of the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect girls’ sports and stop anyone – public officials included – from violating women’s civil rights.”

However, state officials denounced the investigation later on Wednesday, vowing to uphold California laws.

“We remain committed to defending and upholding California laws and all additional laws which ensure the rights of students, including transgender students, to be free from discrimination and harassment,” said the California Attorney General’s office. “We will continue to closely monitor the Trump administration’s actions in this space.”

The action by the DOJ comes only one day after President Donald Trump threatened to cut federal funding to the state over the transgender athlete issue. The threats caused California to, only hours later, alter their policy allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports by allowing girls to compete, who would have otherwise qualified for a state track and field state championship if a trans man previously “won.”

While state officials have commented on the investigation, as of Wednesday evening, they have yet to take any formal action against it.