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California Refuses Federal Demand to Bar Transgender Girls From School Sports

Federal officials threaten enforcement action, funding cuts after California declined to bar transgender girls following an OCR Title IX investigation

Overview

  • California’s Department of Education general counsel Len Garfinkel formally notified the Office for Civil Rights on July 7 that it “respectfully disagrees” with the proposed resolution agreement and will not sign measures requiring bans, rescinded awards or biology-based sex definitions.
  • The California Interscholastic Federation’s general counsel Diane Marshall-Freeman issued a separate letter concurring with the state agency’s refusal to comply with the federal Title IX demands.
  • Education Secretary Linda McMahon shared both refusal letters on X and warned Governor Gavin Newsom that Attorney General Pam Bondi would pursue legal enforcement for the state’s noncompliance.
  • In June, California filed a pre-enforcement lawsuit against the Justice Department to block any federal action aimed at enforcing the Trump administration’s executive order on transgender athletes.
  • The standoff sets up a court showdown over whether federal civil rights law can override California’s 2013 policy allowing students to compete according to their gender identity, with millions in federal education funding at risk.