A federal judge heard arguments Monday over a sweeping request from the Department of Justice for information on students in Maine as part of the Trump administration’s focus on transgender athletes.
Last summer, the Justice Department subpoenaed the Maine Principals’ Association for copies of complete team rosters but also other documents that could contain personal and medical information on some students. The subpoenas are part of the Trump administration’s lawsuit alleging that the Maine Department of Education is violating the equal protection clause under Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to compete on girls’ teams.
But the Maine Principals’ Association and Portland Public Schools have asked a federal judge to quash or block the requests.
During a hearing by video conference Monday, attorneys for the two groups — James Belleau and Melissa Hewey — argued that some of that information is protected from disclosure under federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. They also said the Justice Department’s requests for detailed information about athletes were irrelevant to the central legal question of the department’s case: namely, whether Maine’s current policy violates the rights of female athletes.
An attorney representing the Justice Department, Anna Edwards, replied that the Justice Department is not seeking medical information on students. But Edwards said student information might be necessary for the department to prove that Maine’s policy puts girls at a competitive disadvantage by looking back at individual cases.
Edwards also said the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act allows the attorney general’s office to access protected information in order to ensure that states are complying with Title IX. But Edwards said the law requires that information be kept confidential.
Magistrate Judge Karen Wolf did not give a timeline for when she would decide whether to block or allow the Justice Department’s requests. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering two cases dealing with transgender athletes that could have implications for the legal fights over Title IX in Maine and several other states.
The issue of transgender athletes in Maine school sports also appears headed to voters. Last week, the secretary of state’s office said a proposed referendum on the issue qualified for the November ballot.
If approved by voters, the initiative would require public schools and the Maine Principals’ Association to designate teams for males or females or as co-ed. Only athletes who were assigned female at birth would be able to compete on girls’ teams.
The proposed law would also require schools to maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms and showers for each sex — a provision that would affect far more transgender students given the small number of transgender students who compete on girls’ sports teams in Maine.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
