The Trump administration Tuesday that Minnesota has against sex discrimination.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that the Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota State High School League are in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits federally funded educational institutions from discriminating based on sex.
“For too many years, Minnesota’s political leadership has found itself on the wrong side of justice, common sense, and the American people,” ED’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement. “Now the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League find themselves on the wrong side of Title IX by allowing males to compete in women’s sports.”
Minnesota has allowed male athletes to compete on girls’ sports teams, the Trump administration said. The state has previously concluded that the administration’s policies do not replace its own laws, which include protections against gender identity discrimination, however.
“In order to preempt state law, however, a federal action, whether taken by Congress, an executive branch agency, or by the President himself, must have the force and effect of law,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office said in an earlier this year, citing an appellate court ruling. “An executive order will only have the force and effect of laws ‘when issued pursuant to a statutory mandate or delegation of authority from Congress.’”
ED’s Office for Civil Rights began its investigation in February after the Minnesota high school league announced it would follow state laws against gender identity discrimination. Four months later, the civil rights office elevated the probe and of the state bodies when a reportedly transgender high school softball player performed better than her opponents during the season.
“Minnesota permits male athletes to compete in sports designated for females, which denies females the equal opportunities under Title IX that they deserve in athletic competition,” Director Paula Stannard of HHS’s Office of Civil Rights said. “Minnesota fails to recognize the fundamental biological differences between males and females – differences that justify single-sex teams and are essential to ensuring fair and safe competition for girls and women.”
Ellison’s office wrote in its opinion that President Donald on the matter directs gender identity discrimination, which the Minnesota Human Rights Act prohibits.
“An educational institution violates the MHRA by discriminating in any manner in the services or benefits it offers a student because of the student’s gender identity. This includes prohibiting transgender student athletes from participating in extracurricular activities, as such a practice inherently separates and segregates transgender student athletes from other student athletes based solely on their gender identity,” the office said.
“Excluding transgender girl athletes from participating in girls’ extracurricular activities, as the Executive Order directs, denies those students the full utilization and benefit of educational institutions in violation of the MHRA,” the office continued.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at .