The U.S. Department of Justice has warned California public schools that transgender students can have legal consequences for participating in women’s sports.
Hermet K. Dillon, Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division at DOJ, said in writing Monday that bylaws from the California Interscholastic Federation, the state organization that oversees high school sports, allows student-athletes to compete in CIF activities that are tailored to their gender identity.
“The Equal Protection Clause in Article 14 of the US Constitution prohibits discrimination based on gender. It is intentionally taken away by a female student who knowingly takes away unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Sexual Protection Clause,” the letter states.
In the letter, Dillon said the public school district must prove in writing by June 9th that the CIF will not implement “to ensure compliance and avoid legal liability.”
“Let’s be clear. Sending letters won’t change the law,” California’s public leadership superintendent Tony Thurmond said in a statement. “The DOJ letter to the district has not issued a new federal law, and state laws on this issue have not changed since 2013. California law protects access to all students to participate in athletics in a way that is consistent with gender identity.
The latest round-trip between federal government and state officials comes after President Donald Trump is a junior at Jurupa Valley High School against 16-year-old Abu Hernandez.
Hernandez won two gold and silver medals in the state’s athletics final on Saturday.
In February, Trump said “it is the 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.”
California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring transgender students to participate in sports that match their gender identity. The law was signed in 2013 by former Governor Jerry Brown.
Of the 5.8 million students in the state’s K-12 public school system, the number of active trans student-athletes is estimated to be single-digit numbers, according to Gavin Newsom’s office.
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