The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it is opening an investigation into whether Title IX, a federal civil rights law, is being violated by AB 1266, a California law that permits transgender females to participate in female sports teams at state schools.
Letters were sent to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and the California Interscholastic Federation, a state organization that oversees high school sports, the department announced.
“The investigation is to determine whether California, its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district are engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex,” a news release stated.
This announcement comes one day after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding from California over a transgender high school track and field athlete who qualified over the weekend for the state finals.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump railed against 16-year-old AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School, who won the girls’ long jump and triple jump events at the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section Masters on May 24, qualifying for the state championships that will take place May 30 – 31, The Hill reported.
Hours after Trump’s announcement, the CIF announced a change aimed at ensuring all student-athletes have the ability to compete.
The new process would allow “any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet,” to compete in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships.
“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,” the organization said in a statement.
In February, Trump signed an executive order that states that “it is the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports” and threatens to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.”
California is one of 22 states that have laws requiring transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. The law was signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013.
According to Newsom’s office, out of the 5.8 million students in the state’s K-12 public school system, the number of active transgender student-athletes is estimated to be in the single digits.
