Overview
- After a special meeting Monday, the St. George Select Board approved the child’s participation on the third- and fourth-grade girls’ recreation team in a 3–2 vote.
- Roughly 200 residents, parents, and activists filled the meeting, with speakers on both sides and visible displays of support and opposition.
- Board members relied on advice from town counsel and the Maine Human Rights Commission, and the chair said they would follow Maine law that bars gender-identity discrimination.
- The meeting was called after a parents’ letter objected to the player’s inclusion; school board member Emily Chadwick argued the placement would disadvantage girls.
- The decision highlights a wider clash between Maine’s Human Rights Act and the Trump administration’s Title IX stance requiring teams by biological sex, which has driven policy shifts in some districts and a DOJ lawsuit headed to trial next year.