Trump Admin Launches Federal Probe Into Oregon Policies Allowing Male Participation in Girls’ Sports

The Department of Education’s civil rights office has opened an investigation into Oregon’s policies allowing transgender-identifying male students to compete in female athletics based on a “gender identity” participation policy.

The Education Department said in a July 25 press release that its Office for Civil Rights is examining whether the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is violating Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funds.

“If Oregon is permitting males to compete in women’s sports, it is allowing these males to steal the accolades and opportunities that female competitors have rightfully earned through hard work and grit, while callously disregarding women’s and girls’ safety, dignity, and privacy,” acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement.

The probe follows a complaint filed in May by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank that alleged Oregon’s guidance unlawfully permits males to participate in girls’ events as part of a gender identity participation policy.

The AFPI argues that Oregon’s policies deprive female athletes of medals, placements, and scholarship opportunities and create a hostile environment by forcing them to compete against athletes with significant biological advantages. The complaint also cites reports of intimidation and what it calls “chilled speech and coerced silence” among students discouraged from questioning or complaining about the inclusion of male athletes in female sports.

“Every girl deserves a fair shot—on the field, on the podium, and in life,” Jessica Steinmann, the AFPI’s executive general counsel, said in a statement. “When state institutions knowingly force young women to compete against biological males, they’re violating federal law and sending a devastating message to female athletes across the country.”

Oregon law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, and ODE guidelines direct schools to allow students to compete in line with their claimed gender, not their sex.

Students “who do not consistently identify with the gender binary cannot be prohibited from playing on athletic teams of either gender, in alignment with Oregon nondiscrimination law,” state the ODE guidelines, which also encourage schools to develop individualized policies that cater to “gender expansive” students, including by allowing them to wear non-standard athletic uniforms.

The AFPI contends that federal antidiscrimination laws supersede state statutes. The conservative nonprofit asked the Office for Civil Rights to investigate the matter and issue a formal determination regarding whether Oregon’s policies on gender identity participation in sports amount to unlawful discrimination in violation of Title IX—and take action to compel Oregon state officials to cease enforcement of these policies.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the ODE for comment.

The investigation comes weeks after AFPI filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of three Oregon high school girls making similar allegations against the ODE, the Oregon School Activities Association, and several school districts. The lawsuit also raises First Amendment concerns, citing a podium protest at this year’s state track championships where two female athletes say they were reprimanded for silently dissenting during medal photos.

The Justice Department is conducting its own review of Oregon’s transgender athlete policies, while state Republican lawmakers have warned that Oregon could lose about $1.5 billion in federal education funding if found in violation of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender participation in female sports.

Trump’s executive order, titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports, makes it official U.S. government policy to rescind all funds from educational programs that “deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities” while also opposing male competitive participation in women’s sports more generally “as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”

By contrast, advocates of allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports categories that are consistent with their gender identity, such as Athlete Ally, states that transgender athletes do not have an unfair advantage in sports, that including them in women’s events “benefits everyone.”