AUGUSTA, ME — Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey’s office has rejected a proposed Resolution Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education regarding transgender student participation in school sports, declaring a formal impasse in a letter dated April 11.
The letter, authored by Assistant Attorney General Sarah A. Forster, was sent to Bradley Burke, Regional Director for the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education. It responds to a March 31 “Impassé Letter” from the federal agency tied to a Directed Investigation (No. 01255902) into the Maine Department of Education.
“Forster stated that Maine would not sign the Resolution Agreement and had no revisions to propose, adding, ‘We agree that we are at an impasse.’” The response disputes the federal position that Title IX or its implementing regulations require changes to how schools handle participation by transgender students in girls’ and women’s sports.
The Maine Attorney General’s Office argues the Department of Education failed to cite any binding legal precedent supporting its stance.
“Your letters to date do not cite a single case that so holds,” Forster wrote, referencing several federal cases that support transgender students’ participation under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.
Cases cited in Maine’s response include B.P.J. v. West Va. State Bd. of Ed. and Doe v. Horne, both of which ruled in favor of allowing transgender students to participate in athletics aligned with their gender identity.
Key points
- Maine formally rejects a proposed federal Resolution Agreement over transgender student athletic participation.
- The state cites multiple federal cases it says support its position under Title IX.
- The Department of Education’s letters were criticized for lacking cited precedent.
Legal conflict deepens over school athletics
The Office of the Attorney General emphasized that no provision in Title IX prohibits schools from allowing transgender girls and women to participate in girls’ and women’s sports. According to the state, federal courts have instead affirmed that schools may be required to permit such participation.
The letter, also copied to Chief Deputy Attorney General Christopher C. Taub and other senior legal officials in the state, closes by reiterating the state’s legal interpretation and refusal to comply with the federal agency’s proposed terms.
The investigation and legal standoff come amid broader national debates over the scope of Title IX protections, which prohibit sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.
