The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Minnesota over policies it alleges violate Title IX.
The complaint, filed March 30, argues that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) “have engaged in sex-based discrimination by requiring girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions that are designated exclusively for girls and allowing boys to invade intimate spaces designated exclusively for girls, such as multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms.”
According to the DOJ, these policies undermine the very protections Title IX was enacted to guarantee. The lawsuit seeks to restore safeguards for female student athletes and ensure Minnesota schools comply with federal civil rights laws.
These unfair, intentionally discriminatory practices violate the very core of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. In open defiance of Title IX’s anti-discrimination protections, Minnesota’s policies and practices create unfair competition, deny girls equal athletic opportunities, and expose girls to a hostile educational environment with heightened risks of physical injury and psychological harm. The lawsuit thus seeks declaratory, injunctive, and damages relief for violations of Title IX.
The financial stakes are significant. As I previously wrote here, MDE received about $1.4 billion in federal education funding in FY 2024 — 7.9 percent of its total revenue. Altogether, more than $3 billion in education-related federal funding in the state is tied to compliance with Title IX, according to the DOJ. “As a condition to receiving this federal funding, MDE agreed to comply and ensure its funding subrecipients, including local schools, comply with Title IX.”
Under current federal policy, Title IX is being enforced as applying to biological sex, not gender identity. Minnesota officials have rejected this, maintaining that their policies are legal under state law, which includes gender identity protections. This dispute raises a broader legal question that courts are now being asked to resolve: Does Title IX’s prohibition on sex-based discrimination include gender identity or is it limited to biological sex?
If the court sides with the DOJ, Minnesota could be required to change its policies. And if the state still refuses, that could trigger withholding of federal funds. (Under Title IX, the federal government can penalize noncompliance by cutting off federal education funding to the violating entity.) While this penalty is typically a last resort, the risk underscores the seriousness of the case.
Over 300 school board members in 125 districts across Minnesota have called on state officials and the athletic league to bring their policies into alignment with federal law and resolve the dispute.
Use the spreadsheet below to see how much federal funding your school district received in FY 2025.
