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California sues DOJ over demand that schools ban trans athletes

Published

7 months ago

June 10, 2025

California sued the U.S. Justice Department on Monday over its demand last week that local school districts ban transgender youth from competing in sports, arguing the federal agency had overstepped its authority in violation of both state and federal law.

The “pre-enforcement” lawsuit was filed “in anticipation of imminent legal retaliation against California’s school systems” for not complying with the agency’s directive by its Monday deadline, said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta’s office, which is handling the litigation.

“The President and his Administration are demanding that California school districts break the law and violate the Constitution — or face legal retaliation. They’re demanding that our schools discriminate against the students in their care and deny their constitutionally protected rights,” Bonta said in a statement. “As we’ve proven time and again in court, just because the President disagrees with a law, that doesn’t make it any less of one.”

The lawsuit comes a week after Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee and head of the federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to school districts across California warning them that they faced potential “legal liability” if they did not “certify in writing” by Monday that they will break with California Interscholastic Federation rules and state law to ban transgender athletes from competition in their districts.

Dhillon argued that allowing transgender athletes to compete “would deprive girls of athletic opportunities and benefits based solely on their biological sex,” in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond responded last week by saying in his own letter to schools that Dhillon’s warning carried no legal weight and that school districts were still obligated to follow state law, which requires transgender athletes be allowed to compete on teams based on their gender identity.

The California Department of Education sent a letter to federal authorities Monday, informing them that California’s school districts are under no obligation to provide certifications to the Justice Department.

“There are no changes in law or circumstances that necessitate a new certification,” wrote General Counsel Len Garfinkel. “Moreover, the DOJ letter references no law that would authorize the DOJ to require another ‘certification.’”

“All students — not just transgender students — benefit from inclusive school environments that are free from discrimination and harassment,” Garfinkel added. “When transgender students are treated equally, their mental health outcomes mirror those of their cisgender peers.”

Bonta’s lawsuit asks a federal court in Northern California to uphold the constitutionality of California’s antidiscrimination laws protecting transgender athletes, and to bar the Trump administration from withholding funds or taking other retaliatory actions against school districts that refuse to abide by the Trump directive.

The lawsuit falls along one of the fastest growing legal and political fault lines in America: Does the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment — the Constitution’s oft-cited guarantee against discrimination — protect transgender rights or undermine them?

Dhillon, other members of the Trump administration and anti-transgender activists nationwide have argued that the inclusion of transgender girls in youth sports amounts to illegal discrimination against cisgender girls.

Bonta’s office and other LGBTQ+ advocates argue that the exclusion of transgender girls is what constitutes illegal discrimination — and that courts, including the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which governs California and much of the American West, have agreed.

While Dhillon “purports that compliance with the Equal Protection Clause requires the categorical exclusion of transgender girls from girls’ sports, as courts have previously upheld, just the opposite is true: the Equal Protection Clause forbids such policies of total exclusion, as does California law,” Bonta’s office said.

State law that allows transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their identity “is squarely within the State’s authority to ensure all students are afforded the benefits of an inclusive school environment, including participation in school sports, and to prevent the serious harms that transgender students would suffer from a discriminatory, exclusionary policy.”

An attorney who supports keeping transgender athletes out of girls sports said the rights of female athletes are paramount in this situation.

Both the U.S. Constitution and federal statute provide protections for female athletes that California is violating by “allowing males into ‘girls only’ categories,” said Julie A. Hamill, principal attorney with California Justice Center, a law firm that has complaints pending with the federal Office for Civil Rights on behalf of young female athletes.

“By continuing to fan flames of division and play politics, leftist politicians and media outlets are causing further harm to American girls,” Hamill said.

Polls have shown that Americans generally support transgender rights, but also that a majority oppose transgender girls competing in youth sports. Many prominent advocates for excluding transgender girls from sports praised Dhillon’s actions last week as a bold move to protect cisgender girls from unfair competition.

Sonja Shaw, a Trump supporter who is president of the Chino Valley Unified Board of Education, has called on California school systems to adopt resolutions in support of the Trump administration order.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Shaw said last week. “Our daughters deserve safe, fair competition … But radical policies are undermining that right, pushing boys into girls’ sports and threatening their opportunities. We’re not backing down.”

Shaw, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, said other school systems could model these resolutions on one passed by her school district.

A handful of the state’s 1,000 school districts have passed such resolutions.

The lawsuit’s claim that retaliation from the Trump administration could be imminent for schools that do not comply with the administration’s demands is not entirely speculative. It is based at least in part on repeated threats and actions the administration has already taken against states over its trans-inclusive sports policies.

President Trump has said outright that he wants to cut federal funding to California over its laws allowing transgender athletes to compete in youth sports. The federal Justice Department has announced investigations into the state and the California Interscholastic Federation over its inclusive policies for transgender athletes.

U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli in Los Angeles, a longtime ally of Dhillon and whose appointment has yet to be confirmed, recently threw his office’s support behind a private lawsuit challenging the inclusion of a transgender athlete on the track and field team at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside.

Dhillon issued her letter to California school districts after another transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley High School, 16-year-old AB Hernandez, won multiple medals at the state high school track and field championships despite President Trump demanding on social media that she not be allowed to compete.

The letter came despite attempts by the state to appease concerns.

After Trump’s online threats, for example, the CIF updated its rules for transgender competitors. As a result, Hernandez was allowed to compete at the state finals in the girls’ long jump, high jump and triple jump, but her qualifying did not result in the exclusion of any cisgender girl.

In addition, while Hernandez was awarded several medals, those medals were also awarded to cisgender girls who otherwise would have claimed them had Hernandez not been competing — with the girls sharing those spots on the medal podiums.

Supporters of the rule change said it eliminated concerns about cisgender girls losing opportunities to compete and win to transgender girls, but critics said the changes did not go far enough, and that transgender athletes needed to be fully banned from competition.

Dhillon’s letter demanding school districts certify that such bans were being implemented made no mention of the CIF’s rule change.

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Native Youth Olympics preparations under way | Sports

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Ketchikan athletes had the gym to themselves on Friday as they warmed up for the Native Youth Olympics kick-off scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium at Kayhi.

Henry Agony practices the One Foot High Kick during the Native Youth Olympics open gym at the Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium on Friday, Jan. 8, 2026. Staff photo by Christopher Mullen

Nina Varnell practices the Alaskan High Kick during the Native Youth Olympics open gym at the Clarke Cochrane Gymnasium on Friday, Jan. 8, 2026. Staff photo by Christopher Mullen

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NDSU handles business against Omaha WBB in blowout fashion | Sports

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

The Omaha women’s basketball team remains winless in conference play and suffered its third-largest loss of the season at the hands of North Dakota State.

The Mavericks (2-17, 0-4 Summit League) were blown out by the Bison (15-2, 4-0 Summit League) by a score of 94-39. The game marks the fifth time this season that Omaha has lost by 50 or more points.

NDSU controlled the game from the start. They opened the contest by scoring 15 straight points before Omaha’s Leekaya Burke Perryman ended the run with a layup.

The Bison put together another 9-0 run as the quarter wound down. Regan Juenemann beat the buzzer with a layup, but NDSU led by a whopping 20 points after the first.

The second quarter was followed similarly. The Bison matched their first-quarter total of 24 points and led 48-11 entering the locker room.

The third quarter proved to be the dagger in the backs of the Mavericks. Omaha almost doubled its first half score with ten points in the quarter, but 27 Bison points put the game out of reach. NDSU led 75-21 entering the fourth.

With North Dakota State’s subs in the game for majority of the final ten minutes, the Mavericks were resilient, only being outscored by one point in the final quarter.

Juenemann led the team with 15 points, being the only Maverick to finish in double figures. The freshman shot 6-for-10 from the field in 30 minutes off the bench.

Avril Smith continued crashing the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds in the contest and eclipsing 200 total boards on the season.

Recent addition Reilly Palmer logged her first statistics of the season, recording one rebound and one assist. Lainey Maehl also made her collegiate debut for her first appearance as a Maverick.

Molly Lenz topped the Bison with 24 points on the day, a career high for the junior. In total, four NDSU players scored in double figures.

The Bison shot 42.9 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range compared to the Mavericks’ 27.1 percent and 18.8 percent marks in both categories.

Omaha returns home to host St. Thomas (8-9, 1-2 Summit League) at Baxter Arena on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

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Staten Island youth sports notebook: Two basketball teams from borough play at Barclays Center

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Players from two Staten Island youth basketball teams got the experience of a lifetime Friday night when they played at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

The highly contested 7th-grade B matchup between the Islamic Center of Staten Island (ICIS) and St. Teresa took place following the Nets’ 121-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Unlike the pro game in which the Nets trailed 63-47 at the half, the youth tilt was intense with the game being tied at 15 after regulation.

The ICIS squad then won it in overtime, 20-18.

“It was an amazing experience for all the kids and their families!” said St. Teresa parent Josephine Viglione, of the two teams who are both members of the Catholic Youth Organization basketball program.

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La Habra girls basketball team captures decisive home league victory over Pacifica –

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

La Habra players after Friday’s league victory over Pacifica. (PHOTO: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

The La Habra girls basketball team cruised to a 54-15 victory over Pacifica in a North Hills League game Friday night at La Habra.

Ashley Miller led the Highlanders with 20 points. Penelope Miles added 10 points for La Habra (10-11,1-2).

Pacifica (3-15, 0-3) was led by by Dolly Andrade who scored 13 points.

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Building their future, one brick at a time | News, Sports, Jobs

Published

4 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

STEUBENVILLE — It is often said that big things come in small packages.

And in the case of the Sycamore Youth Center, big changes for the children of the Ohio Valley are arriving in the form of six colorful bricks.

The center has reached a historic milestone, officially becoming the first certified educator training site in the United States for Six Bricks.

Six Bricks is an innovative, research-based program that uses six brightly-colored LEGO DUPLO bricks as a simple, hands-on tool to help children develop essential life and learning skills.

While the program has long been a staple for educators overseas, Steubenville is now the home base for its growth in America, reflecting a deep commitment to the community. Bobbyjon Bauman, executive director of the Sycamore Youth Center, explained how the center has always been focused on bringing meaningful, practical tools to those who work with children and families.

Bauman shared that becoming the first certified educator training site in the nation reflects a commitment to evidence-based practices that help children thrive socially, emotionally and academically.

The upcoming training sessions, scheduled for the afternoons of 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Sycamore center, are being coordinated by Michelle Clum through a collaborative effort among the nonprofit organizations the Ohio Valley Youth Network and Six Bricks USA.

Workshop certificates will be issued to those who complete the five-hour training program.

This training is organized for faculty, staff, parents and community members.

Until recently, anyone in the United States wanting to be certified in this method had to seek training from facilitators outside the country.

However, following a successful pilot program and a full year of research conducted in the United States, the results spoke for themselves, showing that 95 percent of students improved in what experts call “SNaPCLaP” skills.

These skills represent a child’s total development, including social-emotional growth, numeracy or math skills, perceptual development, creativity, literacy and physical movement. In addition to the gains seen in students, teachers involved in the research reported the lessons were remarkably easy to store, prepare and adapt to the individual abilities of each child.

The lessons fit comfortably within a standard class period, while keeping children excited and engaged in their work.

Theresa Paterra, one of the first six certified facilitators in the country, will serve as the facilitator for the Steubenville training.

Paterra emphasized the program is not just for the classroom, noting Six Bricks opens the door to hands-on learning for people of all ages and abilities.

SYCAMORE BEGINS PILOT PROGRAM IN U.S. — The pilot program for Six Bricks involved members of the Sycamore Stars program and at the Sycamore Youth Center, including adult training. Sycamore has become the first certified educator training site in the country. Students taking part in the pilot program learned through the bricks matters such as fractions and decimals.
— Contributed

Educators, therapists, healthcare workers and youth leaders can all use these strategies with learners, who can range in age from 1 to 101.

Through the partnership with the Ohio Valley Youth Network, 12 participants are expected to complete their certified training during these January sessions, with plans for more advanced Level 4 training already in the works for a future date.

For those who are curious about how six simple bricks can change a learner’s perspective, free “taster” sessions are available.

Whether you are a parent, a teacher, or a community leader, the Sycamore Youth Center invites you to see what all the excitement is about.

For information or to register, contact Clum at (626) 905-0712 or send an e-mail to hello@sixbricksusa.org.

: SYCAMORE BEGINS PILOT PROGRAM IN U.S. — The pilot program for Six Bricks involved members of the Sycamore Stars program and at the Sycamore Youth Center, including adult training. Sycamore has become the first certified educator training site in the country. Students taking part in the pilot program learned through the bricks matters such as fractions and decimals.
— Contributed

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HS ROUNDUP: Schimelfenig leads West past Scranton in City Rivalry game | Football

Published

5 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Nate Schimelfenig scored 17 points and Seamus Wallace helped spark a third-quarter surge to lift West Scranton over No. 9 Scranton, 54-41, on Friday night in a Lackawanna Division I boys basketball game.

Wallace finished with 13 points, and he, Schimelfenig and Brian Fried combined for 16 points while making four 3-pointers in a 21-point third quarter for the Invaders.

Cayden Farr contributed 10 points for West Scranton (5-7, 2-2).

Tony Battaglia scored 12 points and Justin Mayers had 10 for Scranton (4-7, 1-3).

Abington Heights 55, North Pocono 36: Jordan Shaffer scored 13 points to lead the sixth-ranked Comets to a Division I win.

Ben Reese contributed 10 points and Andrew Kettel had nine for Abington Heights (7-5, 4-0).

Noah DeSantis scored nine points and Cole West had eight for North Pocono (3-9, 0-4).

Delaware Valley 64, Wallenpaupack 59: James Dabney and Trey Newton helped the seventh-ranked Warriors recover from a slow start to post a win in Division I.

Dabney led four players in double figures with 18 points, and Newton added 16 to lead Delaware Valley (9-3, 2-2). Sam Wood and Colin McGarvey each scored 12 points in the win.

Nick VanBuskirk scored nine of his 20 points in the first quarter when Wallenpaupack built a 17-8 lead. JP Yeo added 18 points, which all came on 3-pointers, for the Buckhorns (3-6, 0-3).

Old Forge 50, Western Wayne 33: Cameron Parker scored 20 points to lead the fifth-ranked Blue Devils to a Division II win.

Ryan DeMarco added 15 points, and Cameron Krushnowski had 10 for Old Forge (9-2, 4-0).

Omar Vargas scored 11 points to lead Western Wayne (2-8, 0-3).

Riverside 77, Honesdale 47: Nico Antoniacci scored 26 points and Brayden Rose added 19 as No. 1 Riverside bounced back from its first loss of the season to beat the Hornets in a Division II game.

Michael Schimelfenig contributed 12 points for the Vikings (10-1, 3-1).

Gavin Briggs scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half, and Owen Pender had 11 points for Honesdale (6-6, 2-2).

Dunmore 76, Mid Valley 52: Carter Sload scored 20 points and Nate Aviles scored 17 points, including 10 in the third quarter when the Bucks scored 30 in a Division II win.

Jimmy Clark svored 16 and Brayden Canavan added 13 points for the balanced Dunmore (11-1, 4-0) attack.

Jeremy Cali scored 19 points and Landon Pratt added 12 for Mid Valley (5-7, 1-3).

Holy Cross 59, Lakeland 43: CJ Thompson scored 21 points to lead three Crusaders in double figures in a Division II win.

Colin Farrell contributed 17 points while hitting five 3-pointers, and Colin Rittenbusch scored 15 points for Holy Cross (6-6, 2-2).

Chase Rosenkrans scored 12 points and David Naniewicz added nine for Lakeland (5-7, 0-4).

Susquehanna 50, Lackawanna Trail 46: Griffin Fisk scored 21 points to lead the Sabers to a win in a battle of teams tied for first place in Division III.

Fisk helped Susquehanna hold off a rally by the Lions with 11 points in the second half. Mason Keyes contributed 13 points and Hudson Stengel had eight for the Sabers (9-2, 4-0).

Lucas Filipek scored 11 points, Jimmy Phillips had eight of his 10 points in the third quarter and Hayden Bluhm also scored 10 points for Lackawanna Trail (8-3, 3-1).

Elk Lake 66, Mountain View 36: Chase Pond scored 17 points to lead the Warriors to a win that keeps them tied for first place in Division III with Susquehanna.

John Heitsman added 16 points and Connor Stephens finished with 14 for the balanced attack by Elk Lake (11-1, 4-0).

Hudson Bain led Mountain View (3-8, 1-3) with 14 points.

Blue Ridge 59, Montrose 56: Paxton Pingarelli scored 26 points, including 18 in the first half, to lead the Raiders to the Division III win.

Landon Bishop drilled five 3-pointers for 15 points for Blue Ridge (4-6, 2-2).

Evan McComb scored 13 points and Sawyer Brown added 12 for Montrose (4-8, 2-2).

Carbondale Area 40, Forest City 30: Cole Becchetti scored 12 points to lead the Chargers to a win in Division III.

Cameron Williams added 10 points and Francisco Roman had seven for Carbondale Area (2-10, 1-3).

TJ Collins led Forest City (0-12, 0-4) with 16 points.

Girls basketball

Cora Castellani had 28 points, seven rebounds, six steals, four assists and one block to lead No. 1 Valley View to a 59-35 victory over Wallenpaupack in a Lackawanna League Division I girls basketball game Saturday.

Ava Gazoo added 11 points, and Ali Mauro chipped in six points for the Cougars (11-1, 4-0).

Abby Cykosky and Ashley Vanderputten each had seven points for the Lady Buckhorns (6-6, 1-3).

Boys wrestling

Mason Mitchell (215 pounds) and Apollo Kazmierski (285) had back-to-back pins to rally Valley View past Montrose, 42-36, in a nonleague boys wrestling match Friday at Montrose.

Cooper Rawlings (139) and Tywone Giles (172) also had pins for the Cougars.

Sawyer Brander (107), Delos Stone (133), Carl Nolt (145), Wyatt Steele (152) and Jeffrey Kany (189) had pins for the Meteors.

107: Brander (MON) pinned Lopez, :32; 114: Healey (VV) by forfeit; 121: Loureiro (MON) by forfeit; 127: Scagliotti (VV) by forfeit; 133: Stone (MON) pinned Venia, 3:42; 139: Rawlings (VV) pinned Carter, :28; 145: Nolt (MON) pinned Klem, 1:05; 152: Steele (MON) pinned Kamora, :14; 160: Smalls (VV) by forfeit; 172: Giles (VV) pinned Hobbs, :28; 189: Kany (MON) pinned Sprague, 1:21; 215: Mitchell (VV) pinned Anderson, 5:09; 285: Kazmerski (VV) pinned Fraiser Jr., 1:53.