Maine is violating federal law as it continues to allow males to compete in girls sports in defiance of the president’s executive order barring such competition. That’s according to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey have both made public statements that the state will continue to allow biological males to compete in girls and women’s sports. Additionally, the primary governing body for high school sports in the state, the Maine Principals’ Association, has yet to change its bylaws allowing “transgender” athletes to participate in sports according to their “gender identity,” and the Maine Department of Education has not stepped in to correct that.
“The Maine Department of Education may not shirk its obligations under federal law by ceding control of its extracurricular activities, programs, and services to the Maine Principals’ Association,” said Anthony Archeval, acting director of the Office for Civil Rights, in a press release on Monday.
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In a letter to the three entities, the office offered them an opportunity to commit to solving the matter through a signed agreement within 10 days or risk referral to the Department of Justice, according to the press release.
The federal agency began a compliance review of the Maine Department of Education Feb. 21 and expanded that investigation on March 5 to include the Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School. The review followed an incident in which a male high school athlete from Greely High School in Cumberland, Maine, won a girls pole vault championship Feb. 17.
The review examined whether the state of Maine allowed biological males to participate in girls sports, thereby violating Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. Title IX aided in the creation of female-only sports programs in grade schools and colleges.
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The current bylaws for the Maine Principals’ Association allow a “transgender” student to participate in sports “in accordance with either their birth sex or in accordance with their gender identity, but not both.”
Rep. Laurel Libby, a Republican in the state Legislature, posted a photo on Facebook when the male athlete won the girls pole vault championship last month. Libby was censured by her colleagues for posting the photo of a minor and is now challenging the censure in court as a violation of free speech and her constituents’ right to her representation of them in the Legislature.
Libby told The Daily Signal that though it was no secret multiple male athletes were still competing in girls sports in the state, she believes her censure helped bring the Title IX violations in Maine to light at a national level.
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The Maine Department of Education did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment, and the Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School declined to comment.
* Original Article:
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/03/19/federal-government-finds-maine-defying-federal-law-still-allowing-males-female-sports/amp/