Minnesota tells Trump administration it won’t respond now to demands over transgender athletes

The state of Minnesota sent a letter to the Trump administration on Friday, saying it would not offer a “substantive response” to a demand to ban transgender players from girls’ sports, citing a lack of clarity amid the government shutdown.

Minnesota Solicitor General Liz Kramer wrote that the timeline for state action was unclear and criticized the federal Title IX investigation and the suggestion that the state “faces imminent cuts to federal funding” unless it makes changes.

“As you know,” Kramer wrote, “if the federal government intends to follow the law, it would need to follow an extensive, multi-step administrative process before any federal funding to Minnesota education programs or activities could ever be terminated.”

The Trump administration issued a news release Sept. 30 saying Minnesota was in violation of Title IX because of the Minnesota State High School League policy that allows transgender athletes to participate in girls’ high school sports — and ordered the state to make changes in 10 days. That deadline passed Friday with no apparent clarity about repercussions.

Asked about the issue Friday, White House assistant press secretary Liz Houston issued a statement saying: “While Minnesota officials continue to intentionally endanger female athletes with their radical embrace of gender ideology, President Trump is committed to restoring commonsense policies and keeping men out of women’s sports.”

The statement also mentioned a need to address “the concerns of local school board members.”

School board members from across the state have organized for and against changes to the high school league policy since the administration’s mandate fanned a debate that had been underway for months.

The letter on the nonprofit Gender Justice’s website says the state’s Human Rights Law and Title IX protect transgender athletes’ rights and argues for their inclusion. Its signatories as of Friday afternoon were mostly from Twin Cities-area school districts, including St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Osseo and Hopkins schools, but also Fergus Falls.

“Participation in athletics is a vital part of the educational experience, fostering leadership, teamwork, health, and belonging,” the letter states. “Excluding transgender students from school athletics undermines these educational goals and violates both federal and Minnesota legal protections.”

It countered an earlier letter signed by more than 200 Minnesota board members urging the state to change its policy to avoid running afoul of what the Trump Administration has said is a violation of Title IX. Those board members raised concerns that the state could lose federal education funding if it does not comply.

“We cannot afford to jeopardize millions in federal funding and suffer ongoing budget uncertainty for continuing to violate Title IX,” states the letter, which also emphasized fairness in women’s sports.

The Minnesota State High School League has not changed the policy, pointing to the state’s Human Rights Law.

It’s also proven to be a thorny issue for the state‘s Democrats to navigate. Many have condemned the federal funding threat, but have so far shied away from taking a stance on the league’s actual policy.

Debate over the topic has rippled across the state since February, when the Trump administration issued an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports — and launched the investigation into the Minnesota State High School League.

The latest school board member letter came out of an effort to stand up for the students at the center of the issue, say those who signed it.

Sarah Davis, a school board member in St. Louis Park said the letter represents a “need to be standing up for transgender children, especially right now when they are under attack.”

Rachel Hartland, a Hopkins school board member, said the federal threat “feels like retribution against a state that is proud of its defense of communities that have been marginalized.”