The U.S. Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into the Tumwater School District (TSD) in Washington state on Friday over a widely publicized incident involving a girl being allegedly punished for refusing to play a basketball game against a trans athlete. A civil rights complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on behalf of female TSD student Frances Staudt. The incident became so widely publicized and controversial that the school district voted 3-1 last Thursday to ban trans athletes from girls’ sports, defying the current state law that orders schools to enable trans inclusion. It is one of the first incidents of a school district banning trans athletes from girls’ sports, complying with President Donald Trump’s “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order, while the state as a whole chooses to defy it. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”A lot of us may disagree with the executive order, but us as school board members are caught between a rock and a hard place,” TSD board member Jill Adams said. “I support different viewpoints, I support different ways of living, but it’s tough. I’m caught between, not a rock, but a boulder and a hard surface.”The board members cited the recent incident involving Staudt, and the national backlash, in its decision to ban trans athletes and comply with Trump’s order.Still, Trump’s administration is still doing its due diligence in investigating the incident anyway after the civil rights complaint was filed. “OCR’s directed investigations of educational institutions, state boards of education, interscholastic associations, and school districts demonstrates that the Trump Education Department will vigorously enforce Title IX to ensure men stop competing in women’s sports,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights. “If Washington wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Department, it has to follow federal law.” The complaint alleged that the district investigated the 15-year-old Staudt for “misgendering” an opponent and violating the district’s policies against bullying and harassment on Feb. 7. According to the document, prior to the game, Staudt asked the school’s principal and athletic director whether the player was a biological male. The administrators then allegedly confirmed that they had been notified that the player was transgender, but denied her pleas to have the player removed.TEEN GIRLS OPEN UP ON TRANS ATHLETE SCANDAL THAT TURNED THEIR HIGH SCHOOL INTO A CULTURE WAR BATTLEGROUND Staudt removed herself from the game. Then, according to the document, a TSD employee allegedly confronted Staudt’s younger brother for taking a video of the game, saying, “You better think twice about what you’re doing right now.”Staudt and her mother, Aimee, discussed how her refusal to play against a biological male ignited a firestorm with the Tumwater School District during a “Fox & Friends” inte
The Trump administration is investigating a school district over a controversy involving transgender athletes, despite the district updating its policies to comply with an executive order.
