Vermont’s largest school district is being investigated under federal allegations that it has violated laws surrounding transgender student athletes’ participation in sports.
The Champlain Valley School District is among 18 entities in 10 states being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights “based on complaints submitted to OCR alleging that they have violated Title IX,” according to a press release issued by the department Wednesday.
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education. Champlain Valley is the only Vermont school district named in the release.
“In the same week that the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the future of Title IX, OCR is aggressively pursuing allegations of discrimination against women and girls by entities which reportedly allow males to compete in women’s sports,” Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for the Office of Civil Rights, said in the release.
CVSD was among the first in Vermont to craft a policy in 2023 affirming the rights of trans and gender nonconforming students. It allows transgender students to use their chosen names and pronouns in most cases, and to participate in activities that align with their gender identity, according to the district’s website.
The U.S. Department of Education considers such policies a threat to “the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities,” according to the press release.
District officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Student and advocacy groups are pushing back on what they see as further federal attacks on trans youth.
Aaliyah Washburn, coordinator of culture for the student-run statewide nonprofit group Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, said she believes everyone has a right to play sports.
“As a college athlete, when I’m on the field or court, I’m not thinking about another player’s sexual orientation or gender identity, I’m focused on how I can support my team, improve, and win. That should be the reality for most athletes. Sports are about teamwork, growth, and competition, not policing who someone is,” she said in an email.
The continuing debate over transgender athletes’ participation in sports is “a distraction” and “disconnected from reality,” according to a newsletter this week from the statewide LGBTQ+ youth nonprofit Outright Vermont.
“Transgender youth are not a talking point. They are real, brilliant, and amazing people” who deserve being supported and not attacked by adults politicizing the issue, Executive Director Dana Kaplan wrote.
There are very few transgender youth athletes nationwide and even fewer across individual states, he said, and they just want to “have a healthy outlet and participate in school sports alongside their peers.”
Meanwhile, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark this week joined 11 others to sue the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for “unlawfully conditioning” federal health, education and research funding based on states’ agreement to discriminate against transgender people.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, refers to the federal government forcing compliance with a presidential executive order that “seeks to deny the existence of transgender people and impose rigid, unscientific definitions of sex in violation of state laws that protect transgender people from discrimination.”
“This is yet another illegal attack by the President and his administration on transgender people,” Clark said in a press release. “I will continue to stand with transgender Vermonters and use every tool available to defend their rights in our state. I also will continue to fight back against this Administration’s efforts to coerce public institutions into ideological submission.”
This story will be updated.
