Maine School District Votes to Ban Trans Athletes from Girls Sports Amid Statewide Debate

A Maine school district has voted to rescind its policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports, joining a growing list of districts in the state that are taking matters into their own hands amid a heated debate over transgender athletes’ rights. The Region School Unit (RSU) No. 24 board of directors voted 7-1 to rescind Policy JB, which stated that “students shall be able to participate in accordance with the gender identity asserted at school.” The policy change will take immediate effect, according to Superintendent Michael Eastman.

This decision comes as the state of Maine is embroiled in a dispute with the Trump administration over its policy on transgender athletes. The US Department of Education has launched an investigation into Maine’s Department of Education, alleging that the state’s policy of allowing transgender women to compete in girls’ interscholastic athletics violates federal antidiscrimination law. Governor Janet Mills has vowed to defend the state’s laws and block efforts by the president to bully and threaten Maine, saying, “Do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a president can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”

The debate over transgender athletes’ rights has sparked protests across the state, with some residents and school districts opposing the state’s policies. A recent survey found that 63% of Maine voters believe school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agree it’s “only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women”