The U.S. Health and Human Services said earlier this month that the Maine Department of Education, Maine Principals' Association and a high school are each in violation of Title IX because of the participation of male athletes in female sports. athletes. The federal investigation came after a public spat between Trump and Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills about the subject.
The health department gave the institutions ten days to comply with a voluntary agreement to settle the issue by banning the athletes. The principals' association, which oversees high school sports in the state and School Administrative District 51, which includes Greely High School, both said they will not comply with the agreement.
The federal health department cited Greely High School, in the Portland suburb of Cumberland, because of a report that a male student won a girls' track competition. The district said in a letter to the community Thursday that is not complying because it will instead “continue to follow state law and the Maine Human Rights Act.”
The Maine Principals' Association said in a statement it is also “bound by the law, including the Maine Human Rights Act, which our participation policy reflects.” A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Education referred the matter to the state attorney general's office, which did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also did not respond to a request for comment. The department said in a statement earlier this month: “We hope the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association, and Greely High School will work with us to come to an agreement that restores fairness in women’s sports.”
