Trump DOE probes WA school district for investigating female student who refused to compete against biological male

On Friday, the US Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into the Tumwater School District (TSD) in Washington State after a girl was allegedly punished for refusing to play a basketball against a trans, male male who claims to be female. Last month, a civil rights complaint was filed with the US Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights on behalf of Frances Staudt, according to Fox News, alleging that the district was investigating 15-year-old Frances Staudt for "misgendering" her opponent and violating the district's policies against bullying and harassment.

Before the game, Staudt asked the school's principal and athletic director if the opposing player was a biological male—that was considered "misgendering." She was apparently just supposed to know he was male, presenting as female, and ignore it. After it was confirmed that the student was a biological male, and Staudt's pleas to have the player removed were denied, Staudt refused to play. A school district employee allegedly told Staudt's younger brother, who was taking a video of the game, "You better think twice about what you’re doing right now."

The incident went viral, prompting the school district last Thursday to vote 3-1 to support a ban on male athletes competing in girls' sports. Washington state's high school athletes are allowed to compete based on their gender identity, regardless of their actual sex. However, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the agency that governs sports in Washington, announced a proposal to create a separate, open division for transgender athletes to compete in. The vote supported the WIAA’s proposal.

Last month, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced his plan to defy President Donald Trump's "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order, saying, "It is quite simply inaccurate to say, biologically, that there are only boys and there are only girls. There's a continuum. There's a science to this. There are children who are born intersex. There are children whose hormones and whose chromosomes are not consistent with their sex at birth. Our state laws make clear that children get to identify and participate based on the gender in which they identify. We're going to uphold that law."

Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, told Fox News, "OCR’s directed investigations of educational institutions, state boards of education, interscholastic associations, and school districts demonstrates that the Trump Education Department will vigorously enforce Title IX to ensure men stop competing in women’s sports. If Washington wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Department, it has to follow federal law."

The department is also investigating the high school athletic associations in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Minnesota for refusing to comply with Trump's order.