Federal judge strikes down Trump's attempt to force a state to ban its trans athleteshttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/09/federal-judge-strikes-down-trumps-attempt-to-force-a-state-to-ban-its-trans-athletes/ 🔗Greg Owen (1 Sep 2026)
California on Monday prevailed against the Trump administration's bid to strike down the state's law allowing trans student-athletes to compete in school sports.
A US District Court judge agreed with California that the administration's threat to withhold federal education funding from the state if it continued to allow trans girls to compete on teams that align with their gender identity "lacked clear notice of that requirement as a condition of federal spending."
"Plaintiff contends that Title IX... requires schools receiving federal funds to determine eligibility for girls' teams and facilities based on biological sex," federal Judge Cynthia Valenzuela wrote. "The Court need not resolve that question."
"Even assuming Title IX requires what Plaintiff contends," she said, the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution "bars Plaintiff from enforcing the asserted funding condition in this action."
The US Supreme Court, in its decision addressing Idaho and West Virginia's bans in June, ruled that states may bar trans student-athletes from girls' sports, but did not force them to do so. The justices declined to rule on whether Title IX permits trans girls to play.
In Monday's ruling, the judge agreed that Title IX and related athletics regulations may allow sports teams and facilities to be separated based on biological sex and require equal treatment for both genders, but they don't align with the Trump administration's assertion that "biological sex must control every eligibility and facilities decision regardless of gender identity."---------------------------------
@Sarah B
