The U.S. Department of Justice announced a civil lawsuit Wednesday against the Maine Department of Education, seeking to stop a policy allowing transgender students to compete on women and girls' sports teams.
The department is also reviewing the state’s federal funding and may retroactively pull all funding the state has received for not complying with Title IX in the past. "Many, many" other states including Minnesota and California are next in line, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said during a press conference.
The announcement comes days after the U.S. Department of Education passed enforcement of its Title IX investigation into the state to the Justice Department, and after multiple letters and announcements have threatened federal funding for Maine and other states over civil rights compliance.
The Justice Department said it is also considering whether to retroactively pull all funding that Maine has received for not complying with Title IX in the past. Bondi did not clarify how many years back a retroactive revocation of funding might go.
"We're going in a different direction in our funding," said Bondi. "We're looking at Minnesota. We're looking at California. We're looking at many, many states. But they are the top two that should be on notice, because we have been communicating with them"
The Trump administration has made clear it is shifting its investigation and enforcement strategy from previous administrations. It aims to shorten investigation time and cut funding from any states and schools that do not interpret civil rights laws to keep transgender students out of sports and facilities aligning with their gender identities, and from states and schools in some cases that incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion into their practices.
California has been the subject of another Education Department investigation since March 27 for violations of the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act, which the Trump administration says the state ran afoul of by allowing children across multiple school districts to "socially transition" at school while hiding their gender identity from parents at home.
The Justice Department’s decision to sue Maine on Wednesday came after two short and parallel investigations conducted by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services found the state in violation of Title IX. Those investigations were precipitated by a public spat between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump over the state's transgender athlete policy. The dispute during a Feb. 21 governors’ meeting at the White House ended with Mills saying the state will "see you in court."
"Obviously, we are going to," U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said of Mills' threat during the same Wednesday press conference alongside Bondi.
"I hope Gov. Mills will recognize that her political feud with the president will deprive the students in her state of much more than the right to fair sporting events," McMahon said.
On Wednesday, Bondi said that schools in states that are under review will be spared if they willingly comply with the administration's interpretation of civil rights laws.
Maine School Administrative District 70, for example, voted to comply with the administration just prior to the lawsuit's announcement. Bondi said that district — and others, if they choose to follow suit — will be spared from legal action.
