California will not comply with the Trump administration’s request to ban trans athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports, State Department officials announced Monday.
The decision, in accordance with an order from U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, gave a 10-day deadline from June 27th, prohibiting transgender girls from competing with cisgender girls and revoking the campaign awards they received, citing federal recognition that state policies violated anti-discrimination laws.
“CDE honours the analysis of the OCR and will not sign the proposed resolution agreement,” wrote Advisor Len Garfinkle.
Since 2013, California has allowed student-athletes to use any facility and participate in sports teams tailored to gender identity.
McMahon responded to California’s decision in a post from X.
“California has just rejected a resolution contract to keep men out of women’s sports, following federal law. The governor’s perception that “it’s a matter of fairness” turned out to be an empty political epic of being @cagovernor.
The post also hinted at comments made by Gov. Gavin Newsom on his podcast’s debut episode. Newsom, a solid advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, said he considers trans athletes participating in women’s sports to be “deeply unfair.”
The latest round-trip between the federal government and state officials saw President Donald Trump railet against 16-year-old AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School, and then won the women’s long jump and triple jump event at the master of the Southern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation on May 24th, qualifying for the state championship on May 30th and 31st.
Hernandez won two gold and silver medals in the state track and field finals.
In May, the California Inter-State Transport Federation, the state organization that oversees high school sports, announced changes aimed at ensuring that all student-athletes are capable of competing.
The new process will allow you to compete in the 2025 CIF Track and Field Championships “earn one next qualifying mark of the section’s automatic qualifying entries at the CIF State Tournament and failed to achieve the CIF State’s massive mark at the section tournament.”
In February, Trump said it was a US policy to oppose men’s competitive participation in women’s sports,” and signed an executive order that threatened to “retract all funds from education programs that deprive women and girls of fair movement opportunities.”
Trump hints at withholding federal funds from California on the issue. Newsom responded, increasing the likelihood of withholding California’s federal tax percentage.
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