Maine officials refuse to comply with Trump order barring biological males from women's sports

Maine officials and school districts are refusing to sign a letter of compliance stating that they will follow Title IX and prohibit biological males from competing in women’s sports. The deadline to comply is today. 

The Maine Principals' Association, which oversees school sporting competitions in the state, refused to sign the agreement sent by the federal government, citing the state’s Human Rights Act, per WMTW.

A spokesperson for the MPA told the outlet, "The Maine Principals’ Association is bound by the law, including the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA), which our participation policy reflects. We are unable to sign any resolution agreement that would mandate we create a new policy that would violate the law and MHRA. As such, we have not signed and will not sign the resolution agreement sent by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. With respect to the Federal Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, resolution agreement, we were not a direct recipient of that agreement, so we are not required to respond."

The Maine School Administrative District No. 51 Board of Directors, which includes Greely High School, said that it would not be signing the agreement. 

A letter to the community stated, "We are writing today to inform our community that MSAD #51 will not be agreeing to the proposed VRA sent to our district. As stated during our Board meeting on March 6th, MSAD #51 will continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA). Compliance with the proposed VRA would be a violation of current Maine law."

The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights determined on March 17 that the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association, and Greely High School all violated Title IX. A press release from the department stated that the entities had 10 days to comply and sign an agreement, or "risk referral to the US Department of Justice for appropriate action."

Greely High School garnered criticism after it was revealed that a trans-identified male on the girls’ team won the girls’ state championships for pole vault in December, just days after Trump signed an executive order barring biological males from women’s sports. Those who do not comply risk their federal funding. 

The Greely High School incident gained attention after Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby posted about the transgender student’s win. In the wake of her posting about the win, Libby was censured in the state House and has sued state House Speaker Ryan Fecteau over the censure. 

Shortly after the transgender student’s win went viral, Trump confronted Maine Governor Janet Mills at a governor’s meeting at the White House, saying "you better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any federal funding."

The Trump administration paused federal funding to Maine’s public university system. A message sent to the University of Maine System from the US Department of Agriculture read, "This pause is temporary in nature while USDA evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI or Title IX violations. Please take any necessary actions to effectuate this direction from leadership. This pause will remain in effect until further notice." A little over a week later, the Department of Agriculture said that the University of Maine System had agreed to comply with Trump’s executive order to keep biological males out of women’s sports.

Rep. Libby said in a statement, "Governor Janet Mills, Speaker Ryan Fecteau, and the rest of Maine's Democrat Majority have chosen an extremist agenda over sanity, ignoring the rights and safety of Maine women and girls. Despite countless pleas from their constituents and warnings from President Trump, Maine Democrats continue to force our girls to compete against biological males, effectively erasing them. As a result of their refusal to comply with President Trump's Executive Order and protect Maine girls, they will inevitably have to face the warranted repercussions from the Department of Justice, recklessly risking hundreds of millions in federal funding for Maine students."