PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — School officials in Maine said Thursday they will not comply with a proposed agreement from President Donald Trump’s administration that would bar transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports.
The U.S. Health and Human Services said earlier this month that the Maine Department of Education, Maine Principals’ Association and a high school are each in violation of Title IX because of the participation of transgender athletes. The federal investigation came after a public spat between Trump and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills about the subject.
The health department gave the institutions ten days to comply with a voluntary agreement to settle the issue by banning the athletes. The principals’ association, which oversees high school sports in the state and School Administrative District 51, which includes Greely High School, both said they will not comply with the agreement.
The federal health department cited Greely High School, in the Portland suburb of Cumberland, because of a report that a transgender student won a girls’ track competition. The district said in a letter to the community Thursday that it is not complying because it will instead “continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act.”
The district statement also said: “To our students: Thank you for your maturity, perseverance, and dedication to learning through these distractions. Please continue to lead the way.”
The Maine Principals’ Association said in a statement it is also “bound by the law, including the Maine Human Rights Act, which our participation policy reflects.” A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Education referred the matter to the state attorney general’s office, which did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also did not respond to a request for comment. The department said in a statement earlier this month: “We hope the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association, and Greely High School will work with us to come to an agreement that restores fairness in women’s sports.”
Mills and Trump sparred over the subject last month during a meeting of governors at the White House. During the meeting, Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Maine if the state does not comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.
Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”
The U.S. Education Department has since concluded Maine violated the Title IX antidiscrimination law and could face Justice Department prosecution.
