Trump admin investigates Oregon’s largest school district for allowing trans students to play sports
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education said in a news release Tuesday that it has opened an investigation into Portland Public Schools, Oregon’s largest school district, over allowing a transgender athlete to compete on a high school girls’ track-and-field team.
The federal agency said it was investigating whether this violated Title IX, a 1972 law barring sex discrimination in education. The Trump administration has been using the law to push against schools that provide accommodations for transgender students.
President Donald Trump also signed an executive order last month intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
“We will not allow the Portland Public Schools District or any other educational entity that receives federal funds to trample on the antidiscrimination protections that women and girls are guaranteed under law,” Craig Trainor, the education department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in the news release.
The department said it also sent a letter to the Oregon School Activities Association, or OSAA, notifying it of an investigation into its “gender identity participation” policy.
The department said its investigation into the district was based on a complaint filed with its civil rights office. The complaint said the district and OSAA allowed a high school transgender athlete to compete in the girls’ track and field division over the last two seasons, according to the department’s news release.
Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong said the district is in full compliance with Oregon state law, “which may differ from federal guidance,” and that it was working to “navigate this complex legal landscape.”
“I want our community to know that I am aware of the complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and Portland Public Schools is fully cooperating with the investigation,” Armstrong said in a statement.
“While I am limited in what I can share at this time due to the sensitive nature of the matter and our duty to protect student privacy, I want to be clear: my commitment — and our district’s commitment — to doing what’s right for all students, especially those most vulnerable, remains unwavering.”
Elsewhere, the federal agency has also opened investigations into Denver public schools after an all-gender restroom replaced a girl’s restroom while leaving another exclusive to boys, as well as the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.