The Department of Education announced an investigation on Friday into the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) due to allegations it allows transgender-identifying males to compete in female sports, in violation of civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened the Title IX investigation after receiving a complaint from the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a nonprofit that says it seeks to “advanc[e] policies that put the American people first” with guiding principles including “liberty, free enterprise, and national greatness.”
WATCH — President Trump: Having Women Compete with Trans Athletes Is “Demeaning to Women”:
“In the last six months, the Trump Administration has made historic strides in cleaning up the countless failures of the Biden Administration, including the prior Administration’s dedication to gender ideology extremism. Oregon appears to have missed the message: The Trump Administration will not allow educational institutions that receive federal funds to continue trampling upon women’s rights,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said.
“If Oregon is permitting males to compete in women’s sports, it is allowing these males to steal the accolades and opportunities that female competitors have rightfully earned through hard work and grit, while callously disregarding women’s and girls’ safety, dignity, and privacy. Title IX does not permit that shameful arrangement, and we will not tolerate it,” Trainor added.
The AFPI filed its own lawsuit this week against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) on behalf of two Oregon student-athletes who were allegedly punished for silently protesting a transgender-identifying male competing in girls’ sports.
“Thanks to Secretary McMahon’s leadership, this investigation is moving forward as a vital step toward restoring equal opportunity in women’s athletics,” Executive General Counsel at AFPI Jessica Hart Steinmann said. “Title IX was meant to protect girls — not to undermine them — and we’re hopeful this signals a return to that original purpose.”
READ MORE: Oregon Girls Who Protested Trans Athlete at Track Meet File Lawsuit
AFPI alleged in its complaint that ODE issue guidance specifying that schools must follow Oregon’s nondiscrimination law, which states that “schools are prohibited from excluding gender expansive students from participating in school athletics and activities that align with their…gender identity.”
WATCH — President Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Men from Women’s Sports:
The Department of Education countered in a press release that “state laws do not override federal anti-discrimination laws, and ODE and its member schools remain subject to Title IX and its implementing regulations.” Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities receiving federal funding.
AFPI’s complaint specifically alleges that several female high school athletes in Oregon have lost “medal awards, placements, and other competitive opportunities” to males and suffered “heightened stress, intimidation, and emotional distress” in anticipation of competing against them. The AFPI also alleged the ODE “chilled speech and coerced silence” from the female athletes, who were allegedly “explicitly or implicitly told by school authorities not to question or complain about the inclusion of male athletes in girls’ categories.”
AFPI’s complaint additionally alleges that OSAA, which is the state’s high school interscholastic athletic body, has policies that violate Title IX by allowing students to participate on teams based on “gender identity” rather than biological reality. The Department of Education noted that its OCR opened a Title IX investigation into OSAA in March, as well as Portland Public Schools.
The ODE did not respond to Breitbart News’s request for comment by time of publication.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
Read the full article here