True North Legal (TNL), a nonprofit law firm and initiative of Minnesota Family Council (MFC), applaud the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for their joint finding today that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) violated Title IX by permitting male athletes to compete in female sports and access female intimate facilities.
The investigation, done in partnership with the Department of Justice, found that MDE’s and MSHSL’s policies violate Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination, as males’ documented physical advantages over females in sports lead to unfair competition, injuries, lost opportunities, and diminished recognition for female athletes. In addition, the joint finding concluded that Minnesota’s policies create a hostile educational environment by denying students sex-separated intimate facilities, which violates women’s and girls’ privacy rights and substantially increases the risk of sexual harassment and assault.
The joint finding also mentioned testimony provided to the Minnesota House Education Committee in favor of the Preserving Girls’ Sports Act, a legislative effort spearheaded by MFC and TNL.
TNL General Counsel Renee Carlson said, “Alongside legislators and other allies, I’ve worked to protect women and girls in sports since 2014, even testifying in strong opposition at the MSHSL hearing that ushered in their discriminatory policy. That’s why I’m particularly pleased to see the joint finding today affirming the common-sense principle that allowing men to compete in girls’ sports eviscerates fair and equal athletic opportunities for girls. Violating one girls’ rights is one too many. But the principles affirmed today are deeper than fairness in sports. We’re in a cultural battle over truth—about the real, physiological differences between men and women. Those differences matter because they are inherent in God’s design. They are what make girls’ sports worth protecting.”
TNL Director of Litigation Doug Wardlow added, “The joint finding is a win for common sense and the rule of law. A person’s male or female sex is a God-given gift that cannot be changed—a fact that is reflected in Title IX. As the joint finding observed, Title IX is based on the principle that sex is a biologically determined trait that is relevant to fairness in sports and privacy in intimate spaces. Title IX does not permit radical gender ideology to trample the fairness, privacy, and dignity interests of students.”
