The Trump administration concluded following a review that Maine violated Title IX protections by allowing transgender student-athletes to take part in women’s sporting competitions, The New York Times reports.
The federal Office for Civil Rights has issued a “notice of violation” to the Maine Department of Education saying the state had failed to comply with Title IX following the executive order that prohibits transgender athletes from participating in sports for women.
The notice claims that Maine violated Title IX “by denying female student-athletes in the State of Maine an equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the benefits of participation ‘in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics’ offered by the state by allowing male athletes to compete against female athletes in current and future athletic events.”
It also claims that “Male athletes, by comparison, are not subject to heightened safety or competitive concerns, which only affect females.”
The Office for Civil Rights conducted a review of the Maine Education Department after President Donald Trump took aim at Maine Gov. Janet Mills over the state’s transgender student-athlete policies.
A spokesperson for Mills told The New York Times that no federal officials contacted her office or the state Department of Education during the review process, which took four days to complete.