The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights have informed the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League that their case is being referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement action due to non-compliance with Title IX regulations.
On September 30, 2025, federal civil rights offices determined that the Minnesota agencies violated Title IX by permitting males to participate in female sports programs and access female-only facilities. The agencies were given a proposed Resolution Agreement as an opportunity to address these violations voluntarily but declined to accept or negotiate the agreement after responding in December 2025.
“Despite repeated opportunities to comply with Title IX, Minnesota has chosen defiance – continuing to jeopardize the safety of women and girls, deny them fair competition, and erode their right to equal access in educational programs and activities,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “As Minnesota reels from a massive fraud scandal exposing Governor Tim Walz’s dereliction of duty, today’s referral to DOJ underscores the state's ongoing failure to safeguard its citizens and uphold the rule of law. The Trump Administration will not stop until accountability is delivered for Minnesota’s students.”
“Minnesota is violating Title IX, and we will not look the other way,” said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “When states allow males to compete in girls’ sports, they deny young women and girls the protections the law guarantees. After Minnesota refused to comply, we referred this case to the Department of Justice for enforcement.”
In June 2025, investigations into potential Title IX violations by these Minnesota entities were expanded through a partnership between ED’s Office for Civil Rights Special Investigations Team and DOJ; at the same time HHS launched a compliance review related to a male athlete's participation on a high school girls' softball team.
Federal authorities found that since 2023, this athlete competed on Champlin's girls’ varsity fastpitch softball team each season leading it against all-girls teams; similar participation by male athletes was also identified across several other girls' sports including Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, lacrosse, track and field, volleyball, and fastpitch softball.
With today's letter notifying Minnesota officials about referring this matter for DOJ proceedings—which could result in withdrawal of federal funding—officials stressed that Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs receiving federal aid.
