It appears that Maine is facing consequences for not complying with the federal Title IX regulations by permitting men to participate in women’s sports. The state’s defiance has prompted a second Department of Justice referral during the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has taken action by referring the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to the Department of Justice. This decision comes as Maine persists in allowing transgender athletes to take part in girls’ sports.
This marks the second time educational institutions in the state have been referred to the DOJ in the past month for this issue. On March 28, the Department of Health and Human Services referred MDOE, the Maine Principal’s Association, and Greely High School regarding the same matter.
That statement, that the state of Maine “…continues to allow trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports,” you can read as “…continues to allow boys in girls’ sports.” Yes, folks, biological reality is once more being enforced – what a concept!
Now, the OCR informed Maine Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster of a second DOJ referral in a letter on Friday. The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, states that earlier on Friday the Maine Attorney General’s office formally notified OCR that it would not sign a resolution agreement to amend the state’s gender eligibility policies to comply with Title IX, so the DOJ referral must be made.
“Accordingly, OCR has determined compliance cannot be secured by informal or voluntary means,” the letter read. “OCR now refers this matter to the Department of Justice with a recommendation for appropriate proceedings, to enforce all legally available remedies.”
Now, it’s unclear what the Trump administration’s next steps will be, but USDA has already cut off federal funding to the state.
One of President Trump’s first executive actions on resuming office in January was to amend regulations interpreting Title IX to limit girls’ and women’s sports to, you know, girls and women. Maine has, from the beginning, refused to abide by the Title IX revisions. And, Maine’s government may regret that in the next election cycle. An American Parents Coalition survey of Maine voters revealed that 63 percent of respondents think that students should play on the team that aligns with their “Biological sex,” while 60 percent support a ballot measure in Maine reserving girls’ and women’s sports exclusively for “biological females.” That’s not looking good for the politicians insisting on this act of defiance of reality. (And, yes, “biological male/female” is a redundancy; sex is a matter of biology.)
Maine’s voters should keep this in mind in their next gubernatorial election.
