The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Friday said it referred Maine’s “noncompliance” with Title IX rules to the Justice Department for enforcement.
Maine has continued to defy President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban trans athletes from women’s and girls’ sports. The HHS gave the state 10 days to correct its policies through a signed agreement or risk referral to the Justice Department.
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks during the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 21. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Today, OCR referred Maine’s noncompliance with Title IX to @TheJusticeDept for enforcement in court for continuing to unlawfully allow males to compete against females,” the department announced in a post on X.
“HHS will continue to protect women’s sports and keep the promises of Title IX for America’s women and girls.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ office and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey’s office for comment.
The Maine School Administrative District 51, home to Greely High School, where a transgender athlete incited national controversy after winning a girls’ pole vault competition in February, said Thursday it was not complying and will instead “continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act.”
The Maine Principals’ Association said in a statement it is also “bound by the law, including the Maine Human Rights Act, which our participation policy reflects.”
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The Maine State House is seen in Augusta, Maine, on June 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
The situation involving the trans athlete at Greely High School attracted national attention after Maine Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby identified the athlete by name with a photograph in a social media post. Libby was later censured by the Maine legislature, and she has since filed a lawsuit to have it overturned.
Trump signed the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in early February, which led to multiple athletics associations complying with it and a handful thumbing their nose at the order. The issue with the state of Maine came to a head at a meeting of the National Governors Association.
Trump threatened to cut federal funding to the state for not banning biological males from girls’ and women’s sports.
The next day, Mills’ office responded with a statement threatening legal action against the Trump administration if it did withhold federal funding from the state. Then, Trump and Mills verbally sparred in a widely publicized argument at the White House during a bipartisan meeting of governors.
“Are you not going to comply with that?” Trump asked Mills.
Since then, multiple protests against Mills have been held outside the state Capitol, and the Maine University System has cooperated with the Trump administration to ensure no trans athletes compete in women’s sports after a temporary funding pause.
President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashed at the White House last month over executive order compliance. (Pool via AP/Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The OCR announced last week it found the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School in violation of Title IX for continuing to enable trans inclusion in girls’ sports.
OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital warning of potential consequences for continued defiance of the executive order.
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“What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and Greely High School is simple — protect female athletes’ rights. Girls deserve girls-only sports without male competitors. And if Maine won’t come to the table to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS will enforce Title IX to the fullest extent permitted by the law,” Archeval said.
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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