Trump opens Title IX investigation into California high school sports governing body

Andrew Sheeler, The Sacramento Bee on Feb 12, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s Department of Education on Wednesday announced that it is opening a Title IX investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation, a statewide governing body that oversees sports at more than 1,500 high schools, for its policy of allowing transgender girls to play female sports.

Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and universities that receive federal funds.

Acting U.S. Assistant Education Secretary Craig Trainor in a statement accused CIF of engaging in “meaningless virtue-signaling” and said that “history does not look kindly on entities and states that actively opposed the enforcement of federal civil rights laws that protect women and girls from discrimination and harassment.”

CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag in an emailed statement to The Sacramento Bee said: “While the CIF has been notified of the investigation, we do not comment on pending investigations.”

In a statement to The Bee before Trump announced the investigation, Brutlag said the organization would continue complying with California law, which protects trans students’ right to play.

“The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law ... which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records,” Brutlag wrote.

The Trump administration this week also called on the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations to strip all transgender athletes of their records, titles and awards.

“The next necessary step is to restore athletic records to women who have for years been devalued, ignored and forced to watch men steal their accolades,” said Trump Deputy General Counsel Candice Jackson in a statement, disregarding that transgender women are not men.

The NCAA previously had announced that it would adhere to Trump’s executive order banning trans female athletes from playing.

“We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.

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