California faces Trump admin lawsuit over alleged Title IX violations

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced it will sue the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over Title IX violations.

The administration is asking for an injunction on the state’s policy allowing males to compete against females in sports – an issue that reached a fever pitch earlier this year when a transgender athlete won multiple events in girls’ track and field competitions.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

AB Hernandez, a transgender student at Jurupa Valley High School, poses for photos with her medals at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, California, on Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

California’s policies “eviscerate equal athletic opportunities for girls … they also require girls to share intimate spaces, such as locker rooms, with boys, causing a hostile educational environment that denies girls educational opportunities,” the lawsuit said.

“The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition.”

The state’s current policy allows athletes to participate in sports “consistent with” their gender identity. State officials have maintained that this doesn’t violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Fox News Digital reached out to the CDE and CIF for comment.

The U.S. Education Department recently found California in violation of Title IX. However, the CDE and CIF both declined to sign the proposed resolution agreement offered by the department late last month. The CDE and CIF were given until July 7 to meet the demand.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a press conference, July 2, 2025 in Burbank, California. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

REP KEVIN KILEY REFLECTS ON IMPACT OF CALIFORNIA TRANS ATHLETE CONFLICT AMID STATE’S BATTLE WITH TRUMP

On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked again about his thoughts on transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

“I struggled with the issue of fairness when it came to sports,” he said at an event in South Carolina. “And we tried to figure that out a couple of years ago, and we were unsuccessful, and we struggled with that recently.

“And my position is that I don’t think it’s fair, but I also think it’s demeaning to talk down to people, and to belittle the trans community. And I don’t like the way the right wing talks about the trans community. These people just want to survive.” 

Newsom has made his thoughts about fairness clear, and those words were used in the Trump administration’s lawsuit against the state, which was filed in U.S. District Court Central District of California.

“Across the State of California, girls must compete against boys in various sports pursuant to policies enforced by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF),” the suit read. “These discriminatory policies and practices ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous ‘gender identity.’”

“The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition. In the words of the Governor of California, it is ‘deeply unfair’ for girls to compete against boys.

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom presents his revised 2025-2026 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., May 14, 2025.  (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

“This discrimination is not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys. It erodes the integrity of girls’ sports, diminishes their competitive experience, and undermines the very purpose of Title IX: to provide equal access to educational benefits, including interscholastic athletics.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Despite warnings from the United States Department of Education, Defendants continue to require California schools to allow boys to compete against girls. The United States accordingly files this action to stop Defendants’ illegal sex discrimination against female student athletes.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.