WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Independent Women celebrates the actions taken by the Trump administration to protect Title IX during National Women’s Sports Week by holding states in violation of the landmark legislation accountable. This includes action by both the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, against California and Minnesota, respectively.

The Department of Health and Human Services’s Office for Civil Rights today announced an investigation into the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League for allowing male athletes to compete on women’s sports teams. The investigation will determine whether Minnesota violated Title IX by engaging in discrimination on the basis of sex.

Earlier this week, the Department of Education said that California violated Title IX by allowing student athletes to compete on sports teams in alignment with their ‘gender identities’, giving the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation 10 days to change policies or risk a referral to the Justice Department.

Beth Parlato, Senior Legal Advisor of Independent Women’s Law Center, said: “It couldn’t be more fitting that the Trump administration continues to hold states accountable for violations of Title IX as we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of Title IX this month. Title IX was enacted to protect women and girls, period. It was never meant to be twisted into a tool for radical gender ideology. The Department of Education is right to investigate states for allowing males to compete in girls’ sports, and the Department of Justice will hold them liable for their blatant violations and willful policies that harm girls. I applaud the administration for taking a bold stand to protect fairness, safety, and opportunity for female athletes. Woke policies must not be allowed to erase decades of progress for women and girls.”

Title IX was signed into law on June 23, 1972 as a major victory for women’s athletic opportunities. Independent Women commemorated the 53rd anniversary of the law with a celebration in Santa Fe, New Mexico called “Her Game. Her Legacy.” alongside New Mexico residents, key policymakers, and athletes. Secretary Linda McMahon joined Independent Women for the “Her Game. Her Legacy.” event in New Mexico, and she has stood at the front lines of the fight for Title IX. This event kicked off a statewide bus tour in New Mexico for Women’s Sports Week.

In honor of the anniversary of Title IX, Secretary Linda McMahon and Independent Women Ambassador Payton McNabb penned an op-ed for Fox News: Common sense says women’s sports are for women only 

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