Maine Public Schools Superintendent likens transgender in women’s sports to past US ‘civil rights struggles’

As Maine continues to beryllium a focal constituent of the sports civilization statement astir transgender athletes successful women’s sports, the state’s Public Schools Superintendent Ryan Scallon has present said his portion connected the situation. 

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it recovered the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School each successful usurpation of Title IX pursuing an probe into trans-inclusion successful girls’ sports. 

"What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and Greely High School is elemental — support pistillate athletes’ rights. Girls merit girls-only sports without antheral competitors. And if Maine won’t travel to the array to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS volition enforce Title IX to the fullest grade permitted by the law," OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval said successful a connection to Fox News Digital. 

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However, determination has been pushback to this finding, arsenic good arsenic the HHS’ informing that the authorities has 10 days to close its policies done a signed statement oregon hazard referral to the U.S. Department of Justice, from respective authorities successful Maine, which present includes Scallon.

The superintendent likened the existent transgender jock conflict to past U.S. civilian rights issues during a caller statement.

"In our country’s history, determination person been galore civilian rights struggles, including, but not limited, to fights for women’s rights to vote, for radical equality and for cheery marriage. In each of these fights, the absorption successful portion was driven by fearfulness successful attempts to ostracize different radical who look, enactment oregon judge successful thing different.

MAINE RESPONDS TO TRUMP ADMIN'S DECLARATION STATE VIOLATED TITLE IX BY ALLOWING TRANSGENDERS IN GIRLS SPORTS

"Today, I spot that happening again with transgender oregon non-binary students, and successful particular, our transgender athletes. When I came to this district, I was focused connected the enactment of educating students successful improving our outcomes. I wasn’t funny successful proactively speaking retired connected societal matters oregon governmental matters. That said, it is simply unacceptable that determination are efforts from our national government, and immoderate successful our state, to ostracize a pupil colonisation that is estimated to beryllium little than 1 percent of our pupil population. 

"In airy of this, I cannot proceed to beryllium silently."

The Maine Principals’ Association issued a effect to Fox News Digital aft the OCR’s announcement connected Monday. 

Maine State Rep. Laurel Libby, right, is sounding the alarm implicit the state's defiance of President Donald Trump's enforcement bid demanding an extremity to biologic males competing successful women's sports. (Getty/Maine House of Representatives)

"The alleged usurpation is owed to MPA’s argumentation which is simply a nonstop effect of the Maine Human Rights Acts mandate that athletes beryllium allowed to enactment connected the teams which align with their sex identity. MPA’s argumentation is accordant with Maine State Law," the effect read.

The Trump administration expanded its Title IX probe into Maine past week, citing violations of President Donald Trump’s enforcement bid stating biologic males are not allowed to vie successful women’s sports successful acquisition and diversion institutions. 

Trump’s Executive Order 14201, amended known arsenic "Keeping Men retired of Women’s Sports," was signed to "protect pistillate pupil athletes, successful the women’s category, from having to ‘compete with oregon against oregon having to look unclothed earlier males.’" In turn, the enforcement bid besides mandated each national section to "review grants to acquisition programs and, wherever appropriate, rescind backing to programs that neglect to comply with the argumentation established successful this order."

Republican legislators successful Maine called connected Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, to comply with Trump’s enforcement bid with millions successful national backing for K-12 schools being threatened arsenic a effect of not doing so. 

Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump astatine the White House. (Getty Images)

"If Maine Democrats proceed to treble down connected allowing biologic males to enactment successful girls' sports, our students basal to suffer hundreds of millions of dollars of national funding. Gov. [Janet] Mills and legislative Democrats person a renewed accidental to bash the close thing, to guarantee restored backing and a just and level playing tract for Maine girls," authorities Rep. Laurel Libby, R–Auburn, said this past Thursday. 

Libby became a salient fig successful this Maine statement aft posting a Greely High School rod vaulter connected societal media. The rod vaulter competed arsenic precocious arsenic June 2024 arsenic a biologic male, and ended up winning a authorities title arsenic a woman. 

Democrats successful the Maine authorities legislature censured Libby for the post, which showed the jock competing arsenic a male, portion adjacent to an representation of the jock winning the women’s pole-vaulting contention successful the Maine Class B indoor title successful February. 

Trump called retired Maine soon aft Libby’s station began to disturbance up debate. Trump had a nationalist statement with Gov. Mills astatine the White House, wherever helium threatened authorities backing if Maine did not "clean that up." Mills replied that she would spot Trump "in court."

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Mills, successful congruence with the Maine Principals’ Association, argues that Trump’s enforcement bid conflicts with Maine’s existent Human Rights law. As a result, pursuing the enforcement bid would defy authorities law, which presently allows diversion information based connected the person’s stated sex identity.

"No President – Republican oregon Democrat – tin withhold national backing authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers successful an effort to coerce idiosyncratic into compliance with his will," Mills said successful a connection erstwhile the HHS initially announced its investigation. "It is simply a usurpation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold."

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

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