Maine Attorney General Rejects Federal Resolution on Transgender Student Sports Participation
AUGUSTA, ME — The Maine Attorney General’s office has formally rejected a proposed Resolution Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education concerning transgender student participation in school sports. In a letter dated April 11, Assistant Attorney General Sarah A. Forster informed Bradley Burke, Regional Director for the Office of Civil Rights, that the state of Maine would not sign the agreement, citing a definitive impasse.
The rejection follows a March 31 letter from the federal agency regarding an ongoing Directed Investigation into practices within the Maine Department of Education. Forster asserted, “We agree that we are at an impasse,” emphasizing the state’s refusal to make any proposed revisions. The Attorney General’s office disputes the Education Department’s claim that Title IX mandates changes in how schools manage the involvement of transgender students in girls’ and women’s sports.
Maine officials argued that the Department of Education did not cite any binding legal precedents to support its stance. “Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds,” Forster wrote, referencing supportive federal cases such as B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education and Doe v. Horne, both of which favored transgender athletes’ rights to compete aligned with their gender identity.
The Attorney General’s office emphasized that Title IX does not prevent transgender girls and women from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, suggesting that federal courts have affirmed schools’ obligations to allow for such participation.
This legal standoff reflects ongoing national debates regarding the interpretation of Title IX protections, which are designed to prevent sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational programs.
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