A school system in Connecticut that's at the center of an ongoing legal fight over allowing transgender student athletes to participate in competitive girls' sports is being investigated by the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed Tuesday, adding a new flashpoint in the national debate over trans girls鈥 participation in youth sports.
James Demetriades, the mayor of Cromwell, said the town's school system could lose nearly $1 million in federal special education funding if the department determines it鈥檚 in violation of , the federal civil rights law that forbids discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal assistance.
The mayor, a Democrat, said Monday the school district would be ineligible for the state鈥檚 athletic conference if it didn't allow student athletes to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
He said the district is currently following 鈥渁ll applicable state and federal law as well as the rules for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference," the governing body for secondary school athletics in the state. In an interview on Tuesday, Demetriades said Cromwell currently has 鈥渘o gender diverse鈥 high school CIAC athletes.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know why Cromwell was targeted for this action,鈥 Demetriades said in a statement on Facebook. He said the investigation also includes restroom and locker room usage.
CIAC's policy of allowing transgender girls to compete in girls high school sports was first challenged in 2020 by four runners who said they were unfairly forced to race against transgender sprinters from Cromwell and Bloomfield. CIAC argued its policy is designed to comply with a state law that requires all high school students be treated according to their gender identity. It has also said the policy is in accordance with Title IX.
While a federal appeals court in 2022 dismissed the plaintiffs' challenge to CIAC鈥檚 policy, saying they lacked standing and had not been deprived of a 鈥渃hance to be champions,鈥 the suit was in 2023 and is currently pending. It could be ready for a trial in 2026.
The head of the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, Craig Trainor, said in a statement that the investigation was looking at whether Cromwell's policies were 鈥渄epriving girls and young women of equal athletic opportunities.鈥
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon added that, 鈥淭his Administration will fight on every front to protect women鈥檚 and girls鈥 sports.鈥
A community of more than 14,000, Cromwell is about 20 minutes south of the capital, Hartford. A rally in support of transgender youth was planned Tuesday evening at Cromwell High School.
In 2019, during President Donald Trump's first term, the Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into the policy in Connecticut that allows transgender high school athletes to compete as the gender with which they identify. It determined the actions of the CIAC, Cromwell and several other communities in Connecticut resulted in 鈥渢he loss of athletic benefits and opportunities for female student-athletes.鈥
Days after taking office for his second term, Trump signed an executive order titled 鈥 ," which states that all funds from educational programs 鈥渢hat deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,鈥 will be rescinded.
In his post, Demetriades asked state officials to help hold the town harmless from liability and intervene if Cromwell is sued by the Department of Justice.
In March, the Department of Education opened Oregon鈥檚 largest school district, over allowing a transgender athlete to compete on a high school girls鈥 track-and-field team.
