CANTON — A letter to Canton's school superintendent from the U.S. Department of Education says the school district's policy on transgender-student athletes is "in irresolvable conflict with Federal Law."
Obtained through a Freedom of Information request, the letter from an official with the agency's Office for Civil Rights announced the launch of an investigation to determine whether the district is violating Title IX, which bans discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program that receives federal funds.
Two other school districts, Bloomfield and Cromwell, received similar letters, the state Department of Education confirmed. Department spokesperson Matthew Cerrone said Wednesday that agency officials were not aware of any other districts that were notified of Title IX investigations
The letter to Canton School Superintendent Jordan Grossman said the federal probe would examine whether the district "denies equal athletic benefits and opportunities to female student athletes through (policies that allow) males to participate in girls' interscholastic athletics, thereby depriving girls and young women of equal athletic opportunities."
A statement from Canton Public Schools said, "The District is committed to working with federal and state agencies to seek a fair and constructive resolution of the matters being addressed by OCR. The District continues to uphold its responsibility to support all students and to enforce policies that prohibit discrimination and harassment."
Cited in the federal agency's letter, the school district's policy on Gender Identity and Expression (Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Youth) says the district complies with state law and local rules requiring that all programs, activities and employment practices "are free from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity and gender expression."
The policy says transgender students "shall be provided the same opportunities to participate in physical education and sports in accordance with the student's gender identity that is consistently asserted at school."
"Participation in competitive interscholastic athletic activities and contact sports will be resolved on a case-by-case basis and according to the standards established by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Association Conference," the policy says.
The rules also say transgender students "should be permitted to use a locker room or restroom that aligns with the student's gender identity."
"Given Canton Public Schools' publicly posted position in opposition to Title IX compliance, girls and young women will be, and are being, irreparably harmed on a continuous basis," Craig Trainor, the federal agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote.
OCR's Kansas City regional office will conduct the investigation, Trainor wrote.
Besides district policies, investigations into Connecticut schools appear to be related to a lawsuit filed by biologically female high school athletes from Connecticut who “alleged a cornucopia of injuries” caused by the CIAC's rules allowing athletes to compete based on their gender identity.
The plaintiffs — track athletes Selina Soule (former Glastonbury High School student), Chelsea Mitchell (former Canton High student), Alanna Smith (former Danbury High School student) and Ashley Nicoletti (former student at Immaculate High School in Danbury) — are being represented by the Alliance for Defending Freedom, a nonprofit organization described on its website as "the world’s largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, marriage and family, parental rights, and the sanctity of life."
Defendants include CIAC, multiple Connecticut school boards and two transgender student-athletes — former Cromwell High student-athlete Andraya Yearwood and former Bloomfield High student Terry Miller. The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the defendants.
The suit contends that plaintiffs’ “opportunities for participation, recruitment, and scholarships” were being “directly and negatively impacted by a new policy that is permitting boys who are male in every biological respect to compete in girls’ athletic competitions if they claim a female gender identity.”
“This discriminatory policy is now regularly resulting in boys displacing girls in competitive track events in Connecticut — excluding specific and identifiable girls, including plaintiffs, from honors, opportunities to compete at higher levels and public recognition critical to college recruiting and scholarship opportunities that should go to those outstanding female athletes,” the plaintiffs contend.