The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Wednesday announced investigations of two high school sports governance bodies for their transgender policies, after President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning male athletes from female sports.
Trainor said that OCR’s Chicago and San Francisco regional offices will conduct investigations into both organizations “to ensure that female athletes in these states are treated with the dignity, respect, and equality that the Trump Administration demands.”
Trump’s executive order also threatens to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities,” and to take “all appropriate action to ... provide the equal opportunity guaranteed by Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.”
CIF Director of Media Rebecca Brutlag told The Epoch Times on Wednesday in an email that “the CIF has been notified of the investigation,” but she declined to comment citing pending investigations.
In an earlier email sent to The Epoch Times in response to Trump’s executive order, Brutlag said the CIF has followed state law, which permits students to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities consistent with their preferred gender identity.
“The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law, which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records,” Brutlag said on Feb. 7 in the emailed statement.
Women’s sports advocate Sophia Lorey applauded the investigation.
“This Title IX investigation into CIF is long overdue. It’s a victory for every girl who has been silenced, sidelined, or forced to compete under unfair conditions,” Lorey, outreach director of California Family Council and organizer of the Save Girls’ Sports CA Coalition, told The Epoch Times in an email.
“As a former CIF athlete and team captain, and collegiate soccer player, I know firsthand the dedication and sacrifice it takes to compete at the highest levels. Female athletes train for years to earn their place on the field, only to have their opportunities stripped away by policies that allow males to take their spots.”
The Department of Education said investigations into MSHSL and CIF were launched after the two high school sports governing bodies publicly “announced their intentions to abide by state law as it relates to girls’ and women’s sports in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws.”
OCR also said in the statement that it is reviewing athletic participation policies at a number of schools “to evaluate their compliance with Title IX protections for female athletes.”
