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≡ TITLE IX vs. AB 1266 ≡
At the heart of the fight between the Trump Administration and the California Interscholastic Federation over the participation of Jurupa Valley High School high jumper-long jumper-triple jumper AB Hernandez, a transgender, in the California State High School Track & Field Championships is a 2013 California law known as AB 1266. It contains, in section (f):
“A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
That allows transgenders to compete in girls’ sports without limit, including Hernandez.
So, in view of the Trump Administration’s view of Title IX as protecting women’s sports, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced on Wednesday:
“The Justice Department today sent letters of legal notice to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Jurupa Unified School District, and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) that it is opening an investigation to determine whether Title IX, a landmark federal civil rights law, is being violated by AB 1266, a state law permitting males to participate on female sports teams at state schools.
“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.”
The 28 May letter sent to CIF Executive Director Ronald Nocetti from Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon included:
“My office has found reasonable cause to believe that CIF, too, is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against female athletes. CIF maintains a policy, CIF Bylaw 300.D, that permits, directs, instructs, or requires California high schools to allow males to participate in girls’ interscholastic athletics, thereby depriving girls and young women of equal athletic opportunities.
“As a result of CIF’s policy, California’s top-ranked girls’ triple jumper, and second-ranked girls’ long jumper, is a boy. As recently as May 17, this male athlete was allowed to take winning titles that rightfully belong to female athletes in both events. The male athlete will now be allowed to compete against those female athletes again for a state title in long, triple, and high jump. Other high school female athletes have alleged that they were likewise robbed of podium positions and spots on their teams after they were forced to compete against males. Even California Governor Gavin Newsom has acknowledged that this practice is ‘deeply unfair’ to girls and young women.
“In light of this alarming news and the other two ongoing investigations, I have directed my office to join [U.S. Department of Education’s] investigation into CIF. Additionally, I have directed my office and the office of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California to review this matter to determine whether the actions of CIF, [California Education Department], the Jurupa Unified School District, and any applicable state laws, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
The announcement from U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli also noted his office filed a statement of interest in the Save Girls’ Sports, et al. v. Thurmond, et al. suit filed 31 January 2025 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California:
“The lawsuit alleges that this California statute ‘is harming hundreds – if not thousands – of female students by removing opportunities for female athletes to be champions in their own sports, robbing them of podium positions and awards, and creating unsafe and intimidating environments in their bathrooms and locker rooms.’
“The plaintiffs include K.S., a ninth-grade female cross-country athlete and T.S., an 11th-grade female cross-country athlete and team captain, both of whom attend Martin Luther King High School in Riverside.
“T.S. was removed from her position of the girls’ varsity cross-country team to make room for a biological male athlete who did not consistently attend practices and failed to satisfy many of the team’s varsity eligibility requirements. As a result, T.S. missed the opportunity to compete at a high-profile meet, lost the right to compete on the varsity level, and missed the opportunity to compete with elite fellow athletes to be recruited by universities and receive other forms of recognition.”
This week’s CIF State track & field meet is thus not the end of the controversy, but only the beginning.
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