A day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to keep transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports, the Department of Education announced that it has launched an investigation into the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for allegedly violating Title IX.
In a press release, the Department of Education referenced an incident from last year in which several players on the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell’s girls basketball team were injured in a game against KIPP Academy Lynn that featured a transgender player. The Collegiate Charter School team, which was already down several players going into the contest, ended up forfeiting the game, citing health concerns with playoffs on the horizon.
Neither school responded to a request for comment from GBH News.
The investigation didn’t shock Chris Erchull from GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, who pointed out that Massachusetts has been a leader for supporting the rights of transgender residents.
“And so it’s not really a surprise to that actions like this would first target states that protect their transgender population,” he said.
According to current MIAA policy , “a student shall not be excluded from participation on a gender-specific sports team that is consistent with the student’s bona fide gender identity.”
In a statement, the MIAA said it has been notified of the federal investigation from the Department of Education.
“The MIAA has historically complied with all applicable federal and state laws. We are currently seeking guidance from the Office of the Attorney General and our own legal counsel on our next step,” the statement read. “We are especially interested in determining this investigation’s impact on teams currently playing the winter season and on our upcoming tournaments.”
The move from the Department of Education, which is also looking into reported Title IX violations at San Jose State University and the University of Pennsylvania, comes as the new administration continues to crack down on policies that support trans people.
Wednesday’s order, which states that it is the “policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities,” was quickly followed by the action from the Department of Education.
The NCAA, whose president is former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, also quickly took action on Thursday, releasing a new policy that limits competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth. The policy will still allow athletes who are assigned male at birth to practice with women’s teams and receive benefits like medical care while practicing.
“The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes. We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” Baker said in a statement.
Regarding the president’s executive order, Erchull expects pushback, pointing out that GLAD is currently litigating a case in New Hampshire focused on a law that effectively bans transgender girls from playing school sports.
“And our clients would not see any relief if this executive order were to go into effect or to stay in effect, and so we are prepared to fight,” Erchull said.
