Trump administration opens federal probe into Washington’s transgender student policy

Trump administration officials on Wednesday launched an investigation into the authority overseeing Washington’s public schools, questioning state policy surrounding transgender students’ sports participation, pronoun use and parental notification.

The Title IX Special Investigations Team, an initiative between the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice, announced the investigation into the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction into whether it has violated Title IX, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.

The investigation is at least the third opened by the Trump administration into state school systems. Washington joins California and Maine as states under investigation for their transgender student policy.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement Wednesday that the investigation into the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction was the “first of its kind.”

“Washington State appears to use its position of authority to coerce its districts into hiding ‘gender identity’ information from students’ parents and to adopt policies to covertly smuggle gender ideology into the classroom, confusing students and letting boys into girls sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms,” McMahon said. “If true, these are clear violations of parental rights and female equality in athletics, which are protected by federal laws that will be enforced by the Trump Administration.”

According to the announcement, the alleged violations could result in the loss of federal education funding. On average, federal dollars make up just under 7% of Washington school districts’ revenue. Much of that is tied up in congressionally mandated formula allocations for poor students or students with disabilities, for example.

In a statement Wednesday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said the investigation is “the latest target in the Administration’s dangerous war against individuals who are transgender or gender-expansive.”

“Washington public schools have a responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students, including transgender and gender-expansive students so that all students can thrive,” Reykdal said in a statement.

Reykdal said his office would “enforce our current laws as we are required to do until Congress changes the law and/or federal courts invalidate Washington state’s laws.”

“Unless, and until that happens, we will be following Washington state’s laws, not a president’s political leanings expressed through unlawful orders,” Reykdal said.

The announcement of the investigation answers a call by some local school districts.

In March, the Mead School Board sent a letter to federal officials requesting an investigation to the state schools chief and directives that contradicted several of the president’s executive orders.

Later that month, the U.S. Department of Education wrote to education officials throughout the country, warning that schools must allow parents to review all education records, including any document related to a student’s gender identity.

Reykdal said Wednesday it was not “the role of the school system to facilitate private conversations that should be happening between students and their parents or guardians, and the federal government should not force schools to play the role of parents when it comes to gender identity.”

The Mead School Board politically aligns with the Trump administration and its approach to female athletics, wishing to exclude transgender girls from girls school sports, citing fairness and privacy for cisgender girls.

According to Reykdal, Washington law has prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity since 2006, and the state has allowed students to participate in school-based athletics that align with their gender identity since 2007.

“These protections fit within the scope of what is allowed by federal law and have been successfully established and implemented for nearly two decades,” Reykdal said Wednesday.

Of the 250,000 student-athletes, five to 10 are transgender, according to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the independent governing body of nearly 800 public and private middle and high schools in Washington

Earlier this month, the WIAA representative assembly rejected two amendments to its transgender athlete policy, which would have restricted girls teams to those assigned female at birth and created a third ungendered competition category in addition to boys and girls.

Following a legal review by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the vote was changed to an advisory vote after it was found the amendments might violate state and federal civil rights law.

“Federal law itself – which has not changed, despite the President and Department of Education’s letters, memos, or executive orders – similarly prohibits discriminating against student-athletes based on their gender identity,” Emily Nelson, assistant attorney general in the Wing Luke Civil Rights Division, wrote in a letter explaining the potential violation.

The Mead School Board and OSPI have also clashed on the district’s “transgender students” policy, with Reykdal’s office recently telling the district their current policy is out of compliance with state civil rights standards.

As they reviewed the policy, school board members were reluctant to make changes agreeable to the state and instead drafted language indicating that they’d obey federal guidance over state directives.

In a provided statement, Mead School Board President Michael Cannon wrote of his gratitude to federal officials.

“This investigation, prompted by concerns in the La Center School District, affirms our stance against policies that restrict parental notification of gender identity changes and allow sports participation based on gender identity rather than biological sex,” Cannon wrote.

Central Valley School Board is in the midst of filing a similar complaint, on Monday drafting a letter imploring investigation of the state for allowing trans girls to play girls sports. The drafted complaint alleges Title IX violations.

Central Valley is set to review their complaint at a special virtual meeting on Monday.

The investigation is the latest battle between Washington and the federal government over school policies.

Washington joined 18 other states last week that challenged a directive by the Trump administration that warned state education agencies could lose funding if they have diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Following the letter, Reykdal told the 295 school districts in Washington not to take action, saying the office is working to “understand the legality of the directive and our next steps,” echoing his past guidance that school districts shouldn’t comply with federal directives that contradict state law.

According to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the federal government provides the state with $1.4 billion a year through congressionally appropriated funds.