Federal Watchdog: Maine Violated Title IX by Allowing Men in Women’s Sports

Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in any education program or activity that receives federal funding.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills listens as President Donald Trump hosts a business session at the National Governors Association's annual winter meeting, at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 21, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis

The Maine Department of Education discriminates against females by allowing males to compete against them in sports events, according to a review by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

On Feb. 21, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced an investigation into the Maine Department of Education for allegedly violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. The probe was later expanded to include the Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School in Cumberland, Maine.

The OCR determined that the three entities were in violation of Title IX by enabling males to compete in women’s sports, the HHS said in a March 17 press release. OCR is tasked with enforcing Title IX.

The review is in line with President Donald Trump’s presidential action on Feb. 5 that opposes “male competitive participation in women’s sports” and rescinds “all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.”

Allowing men to compete against women in sporting events is “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports,” it stated.

The presidential action also protects female athletes from policies implemented by educational institutions that require them to “appear unclothed before males” during sporting events.

OCR has sent letters to the entities, asking that they resolve the matter within 10 days by signing agreements with the agency. Failure to do so would risk these entities being referred to the U.S. Department of Justice “for appropriate action,” foreshadowing potential enforcement in a federal court.

“The Maine Department of Education may not shirk its obligations under Federal law by ceding control of its extracurricular activities, programs, and services to the Maine Principals’ Association,” said Anthony Archeval, acting director of OCR.

The agency expects the entities “will work with us to come to an agreement that restores fairness in women’s sports,” Archeval said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association, and Greely High School for comment.

On Feb. 20, Trump had said that Maine risked losing its federal funding if the state allowed males to compete in female sports.

On Feb. 21, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said the state “will not be intimidated by the President’s threats.” If federal funding is cut, her administration and the attorney general “will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding,” she said.

The U.S. Department of Education stated at the time that state law cannot override federal anti-discrimination laws and that the Maine Department of Education is subject to Title IX regulations.

“Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department, said at the time.

Washington state’s Tumwater School District is also under investigation by the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights Seattle branch for a potential Title IX violation, according to a March 3 statement.

The probe was initiated after a 15-year-old female athlete from the district reported experiencing “sex discrimination and retaliation for speaking up against males in female sports.”

Meanwhile, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) board of governors voted last month to update the association’s “transgender student-athlete participation policy.”

Under the new policy, competing in a women’s category is “restricted to student-athletes assigned female at birth.”