Public school administrators in Portland, Oregon, are facing a federal civil rights probe over a transgender student-athlete’s alleged participation in a girls’ track and field meet last week, the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday.
The department’s Office of Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Portland’s school district and the Oregon School Activities Association, a nonprofit that oversees high school sports statewide. Federal officials accused both the school district and the nonprofit of violating Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination and is used at times to challenge trans women and girls who compete on women’s and girls’ teams.
In this case, the civil rights office has alleged that Portland Public Schools and the activities association allowed a trans runner to compete in the girls’ division of a March 19 interscholastic track and field competition, potentially undercutting Title IX as the runner took first place in two races. The office also said allowing the trans student to use the girls’ locker room during the event may violate the statute.
The civil rights office said it sent letters to Kimberly Armstrong, the superintendent of Portland Public Schools, and the activities association, which is the governing body for the Portland Interscholastic League, to inform them of the probe. The office is specifically looking into the activities association’s “gender identity participation” policy to determine whether it could violate the terms of Title IX.
That policy, according to the activities association, aims to give students opportunities to participate in athletic programs that align with their gender identities, while also upholding safe and fair standards for all students. Developed with the Oregon Department of Education, the activities association says its policy “promotes harmony and fair competition among member schools by maintaining equality of eligibility” and gives more students a chance to participate in interscholastic activities.
The federal civil rights office said it launched the investigation after receiving a complaint that blamed the school district and the activities association for allegedly allowing an athlete not assigned female at birth “to compete in the girls’ track and field division over the last two seasons.” The complaint noted the trans runner had won two races — the girls’ 200-meter and 400-meter — at an interscholastic championship meet in Portland last year and again this year.
“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 a statement. “OCR will use every lawful means to ensure that no female athlete is denied equal athletic opportunities or robbed of her rightful accolades.”
President Trump’s return to office in January, and subsequent executive order declaring that “only two sexes” will be recognized by the federal government, set the stage for these kinds of investigations to move forward. Standing against the ability of trans athletes to compete in girls’ or women’s sports was a substantial part of his election campaign, as it had already become a political flashpoint for a number of Republican leaders.
A spokesperson for the activities association told CBS News Wednesday that the organization had just learned about the federal investigation and was consulting its legal counsel to respond to the Department of Education. Armstrong, from the Portland school district, acknowledged in a statement to CBS News that the federal civil rights office did receive a complaint, sparking the probe. She said Portland Public Schools “is fully cooperating with the investigation.”
“I stand firm in our legal responsibilities, and I deeply value every student’s right to be treated with dignity, safety, and respect,” her statement continued. Citing “this complex legal landscape,” Armstrong added that the district’s policies comply with Oregon state laws, “which may differ from federal guidance.”
“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,” she said.
