The deadline arrived Friday for Maine officials to reach a resolution with the U.S. Education Department over a finding that the state violated antidiscrimination laws by allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports.
The Education Department said in March that an investigation concluded the Maine Department of Education violated the federal Title IX law by allowing transgender girls to participate on girls’ teams. The investigation followed a public disagreement between Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump at a February meeting of governors.
The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights issued a final warning on March 31 telling the state it needed to comply with the law in 10 business days or face enforcement from the U.S. Justice Department. That deadline arrived Friday.
Maine Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster responded on Friday saying her office and the Maine Department of Education had reviewed the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed resolution agreement and will not sign it.
“We agree that we are at an impasse,” Forster said.
“Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate on girls’ and women’s sports teams,” Forster continued. “Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds. To the contrary, various federal courts have held that Title IX and/or the Equal Protection Clause require schools to allow such participation.”
The U.S. Department of Education said in a news release Friday afternoon it will begin an “administrative proceeding” to handle the termination of Maine’s federal funding for K-12 schools, including “formula and discretionary grants.” An administrative judge will handle that issue, while a different federal court will handle the DOJ matter.
“Gov. Mills would have done well to adhere to the wisdom embedded in the old idiom — be careful what you wish for,” said Craig Trainor, the U.S. Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights. “Now she will see the Trump Administration in court.”
Federal funding is critical to Maine schools. Maine got $358 million in federal funding for K-12 schools in 2021-22, or 10 percent of its budget, according to data from the census. About 13 percent of that money went to Title I, 14 percent to special education and 20 percent to child nutrition programs such as school lunches. Title I provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families.
Almost half of federal funds were simply marked as “other,” which likely points to the substantial COVID relief funds schools got that year. Prior to the pandemic, Maine got 6 percent of its funding from federal sources, almost $185 million in 2018-19.
The issue of school funding and transgender participation in sports in Maine began to bubble up when Mills and Trump sparred over the subject during the February meeting at the White House. During the meeting, Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Maine if the state did not comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.
Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”
Soon after, the Education Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched investigations into the state.
Health and Human Services officials said in March 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 Health Department has already referred the issue to the Justice Department for enforcement in court.
The principals’ association and school district both said they would not comply with a proposed agreement to ban the athletes.
Maine Republicans, who are in the minority in both houses of the Legislature, have put pressure on state Democrats to resolve the investigations. House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, speaking during a news conference, said Mills has created a “hostage situation” that jeopardizes federal funding.
“The governor, and her administration, is holding Maine schools and Maine education under hostage,” Faulkingham said. “This standoff is not going to end well for the state of Maine and its education funding.”
LGBTQ+ rights groups in Maine have defended the state’s approach. “We’re not giving in, and we’re not giving up on our trans community,” EqualityMaine said in a social media post.
Federal authorities have also said they are investigating Maine due to claims school districts in the state violate federal law by withholding information about students’ gender transitioning from parents.
Associated Press writer Sharon Lurye and BDN writers Ethan Andrews and Billy Kobin contributed to this report.