The Trump administration on Monday announced that it has referred Minnesota to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for enforcement action over allowing transgender-identifying males in female sports and spaces.
The Offices for Civil Rights (OCR) for the Department of Education (ED) and also the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) are in violation of Title IX by allowing men in women’s sports and spaces. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination as a condition of receiving federal funding.
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The departments concluded in September 2025 that MDE and MSHSL violated Title IX by allowing males to compete in several different sports programs and access female-only intimate facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms. The Trump administration proposed a Resolution Agreement to resolve the violations, which Minnesota ultimately declined, according to the Department of Education.
“Despite repeated opportunities to comply with Title IX, Minnesota has chosen defiance – continuing to jeopardize the safety of women and girls, deny them fair competition, and erode their right to equal access in educational programs and activities,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “As Minnesota reels from a massive fraud scandal exposing Governor Tim Walz’s dereliction of duty, today’s referral to DOJ underscores the state’s ongoing failure to safeguard its citizens and uphold the rule of law. The Trump Administration will not stop until accountability is delivered for Minnesota’s students.”
“Minnesota is violating Title IX, and we will not look the other way,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. added. “When states allow males to compete in girls’ sports, they deny young women and girls the protections the law guarantees. After Minnesota refused to comply, we referred this case to the Department of Justice for enforcement.”
The Trump administration pointed to several specific incidents of males competing on female teams, including a trans-identifying male playing on the Champlin girls’ varsity fastpitch softball team since 2023, and males competing on the girls’ Alpine ski team, the girls’ Nordic ski team, the girls’ lacrosse team, the girls’ track and field team, and the girls’ volleyball team over the past several years.
“Today’s letter notifies Minnesota that ED and HHS will refer the matter to DOJ for proceedings, which could result in termination of Minnesota’s Federal funding from ED and HHS,” ED said in a press release.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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