{"id":450759,"date":"2026-09-02T06:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T06:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/450759\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T06:18:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T06:18:19","slug":"doj-plans-to-renew-challenge-to-californias-transgender-sports-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/450759\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ plans to renew challenge to California’s transgender sports policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration\u2019s fight to keep biological males out of girls\u2019 sports<\/a> suffered a California court setback Monday \u2014 but the Justice Department is gearing up for the next round.<\/p>\n

US District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela, a Democrat, dismissed the DOJ\u2019s lawsuit challenging California\u2019s policy allowing transgender girls to compete on girls\u2019 school teams, leaving the state\u2019s controversial rules<\/a> in place.<\/p>\n

The ruling, however, was not a finding that California\u2019s policy is required by Title IX.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s fight to keep biological males out of girls\u2019 sports suffered a California court setback. CNP\/AdMedia \/ MEGA<\/p>\n

Instead, Valenzuela dismissed the case after determining that the federal government had not adequately notified California that its federal funding could be jeopardized if schools continued allowing transgender girls to compete on girls\u2019 teams.<\/p>\n

For the Trump administration, that leaves the central battle over girls\u2019 sports unresolved.<\/p>\n

The DOJ said Tuesday it is considering an appeal.<\/p>\n

Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon, of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Aliance for Justice<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are disappointed by the Court\u2019s order and remain committed to enforcing President Trump\u2019s agenda of preventing boys from playing in girls\u2019 sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

A department spokesperson said the DOJ is \u201cevaluating our options for appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administration filed the lawsuit in July 2025, taking aim at California\u2019s rules and arguing that they violate Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education.<\/p>\n

The DOJ lawsuit was spearheaded by two longtime critics of the state\u2019s transgender-student policies: Harmeet Dhillon, the Trump administration\u2019s Civil Rights Division chief, and Bill Essayli, who is currently leading the US attorney\u2019s office in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

California has allowed transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity since 2013 under AB 1266.<\/p>\n

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Republican lawmakers, the Alliance Defending Freedom, Concerned Women for America and other conservative advocates argue that allowing transgender girls to compete against biological females undermines the purpose of Title IX.<\/p>\n

They say female athletes face an uneven playing field, safety concerns and the loss of opportunities, including athletic scholarships.<\/p>\n

The California case is unfolding against a rapidly changing legal backdrop.<\/p>\n

Just two months before Valenzuela\u2019s ruling, the US Supreme Court\u2019s conservative majority upheld Republican-backed laws in West Virginia and Idaho that bar transgender girls from girls\u2019 teams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tracy Howton and Juan Luis Viola, parents of competitor Olivia Viola, cheer on their daughter on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Rafael Fontoura for CA Post<\/p>\n

Valenzuela emphasized that the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling was narrow.<\/p>\n

The justices allowed those states to maintain their restrictions but did not order every school in the country to adopt the same policy.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court also did not establish a nationwide ban on transgender youth competing in sports or settle whether Title IX permits transgender girls to compete on girls\u2019 teams.<\/p>\n

Transgender athlete AB Hernandez mid-air during the long jump event. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the California controversy has thrust individual high school athletes into the middle of the fight over girls\u2019 athletics.<\/p>\n

AB Hernandez, a transgender student-athlete <\/a>at Jurupa Valley High School, dominated several girls\u2019 events during the May 2026 CIF State Track and Field Championships and section finals.<\/p>\n

Athena Ryan of Sonoma Academy finished second in the girls\u2019 1,600-meter race at the CIF North Coast Section finals in Santa Rosa in 2023 before withdrawing from the state finals amid protests.<\/p>\n

Lorelei Barrett of the Buckley School qualified for the girls\u2019 1,600-meter state championship after competing at the CIF Southern Section prelims in Los Angeles, but withdrew amid intense backlash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Trump administration\u2019s fight to keep biological males out of girls\u2019 sports suffered a California court setback Monday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,7045,536,4182,3006,40284,3586],"class_list":["post-450759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-department-of-justice","tag-donald-trump","tag-metro","tag-title-ix","tag-transgender","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}