On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) moved to terminate federal K-12 funding for the Maine Department of Education, following through on its promise to cut off funds to an entire state education system, and ultimately others, if they do not enforce Title IX to keep transgender students from girls’ locker rooms, restrooms, and athletic teams, which the administration sees as civil rights violations.
The administration gave Maine 10 days to sign a draft resolution agreement that would change state and district policies to define “females” by “a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs (ova),” and “males” by having “a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm.” “Gender” would be the same as “sex” under the agreement. The draft agreement also would have required the state to apologize to each cisgender girl impacted by the state’s transgender female athlete policy “for allowing her educational experience and participation in school sports to be marred by sex discrimination.”
After the state refused to sign the agreement, the department warned officials on March 31 that it would send the case to the Department of Justice by April 11, 2025.
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