Federal officials announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice has begun an investigation into whether California, the Interschool Athletic Federation and the Julupa Unified School District violated transgender students in school sports competition, a federal official announced.
The Justice Department also supports our lawsuit that alleges that Riverside Unified School District violated girls’ rights. Bill Essayli and assistant Atty, who oversees much of the Los Angeles area. General Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division of the Ministry of Justice.
Trans track and field athletes have been under severe scrutiny in both Yurupa Valley and Riverside in recent months, with anti-LGBTQ+ activists attacking them on social media and screaming against their games at school.
Essayli and Dhillon, a Californian appointed by President Trump, have long opposed trans rights in the state. Their announcement comes a day after Trump threatened to allow transgender youth to participate in sports from California.
The legal action is just the latest attempt by the Trump administration to reduce trans rights nationwide, including bringing the fight to California — the largest queer population in the United States and its most powerful LGBTQ+ legal protections, and targeting individual students in the state.
Trump appears to be introducing the success of AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old transgender track and field athlete at Jurupa Valley High School, in the threat Tuesday, as well as Essayli and Dhillon in the investigation announced Wednesday. Trump mistakenly suggested that Hernandez won "everything" in a recent meeting - Hernandez didn't do it.
Hernandez's mother, Nereyda Hernandez, said in a comment to The Times Wednesday that seeing her child gets attacked “just because of who she is” is heartbreaking despite complying with all California laws and competition policies.
"My child is a trans student-athlete, a hardworking, disciplined, passionate young man who just wants to participate in sports, continue to build friendships and reach the best of his potential like any other child," her mother said.
In Riverside County, the mother of another trans high school track and field athlete was the subject of the lawsuit, and the Justice Department is now supporting Wednesday's decline to comment.
The Justice Department said it had sent legal notices to Atty, California. General Rob Bonta, State Vice President. Tony Thurmond, the California Interscholastic Federation and Jurupa unified public guidance.
The U.S. Department of Education previously announced in February that it is investigating the CIF to allow transgender athletes to compete. Daliron said two federal departments will coordinate their investigation.
Bonta defends state laws protecting transgender youth, students and athletes and recommends that the state’s school system and other institutions, such as hospitals, comply with state LGBTQ+ laws, even in the face of Trump’s various executive orders aimed at reducing the medical and health care rights of transgender youth. On Wednesday, his office said it remains “committed to defending and upholding California’s laws.”
Scott Roark, a spokesman for the California Department of Education, said his agency could not comment. Jacquie Paul, a spokesman for Jurupa Unified, said the school system has not received a letter Wednesday and there is no way to comment "without more information". A spokesperson for Riverside Unified School District also declined to comment, citing litigation yet to be held.
"Take all of our student-athletes seriously, we will continue to uphold our mission to provide students with opportunities to belong, connect and compete while complying with California laws and educational regulations," the CIF said in a statement.
However, the Sports Federation also changed the rules for the upcoming 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, saying that a transgender athlete’s eligibility for a shungesig girl who will still be allowed to compete and will also be awarded medals because they claim they were originally a place where trans athletes did not compete.
These changes have brought about re-criticism from advocates on both sides of political issues, including Sonja Shaw, chairman of the Chino Valley Unified School Board. Shaw, a Trump supporter who runs for state school principal, has challenged Pro-LGBTQ+ laws across the state and supported the latest investigation. When the changes were made, she said, CIF "accepted" that the girl was "exposed from her own movement."
Dhillon said her office’s “model or practice” investigation would consider whether California’s law and CIF policies violate Chapter IX, a 1972 federal civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding.
Title IX has been used to win the rights of trans people in the past, but the Trump administration has had a very different view of the law - and sees it as a reason for having to backfire trans rights.
Daliron said the law “is to protect the existence of women and girls in education” and that “it is incorrect to allow men to compete with girls, invade their private spaces and get trophys” and that her department “will actively defend women’s tough rights with equal educational opportunities.”
Essayli said in a statement that his office will “work relentlessly to protect the movement of girls and to prevent anyone, including public officials, from violating women’s civil rights.”
LGBTQ+ advocates, California’s civic agencies, and many Democratic lawmakers in the state condemn the trans framework for lowering sports, which reduces women and girls’ rights, and accused Trump and other Republicans of attacking trans people — about 1% of the U.S. population — simply because they become an easy and mind-inducing political target.
Kristi Hirst, co-founder of our school, a public education advocacy group, said the Justice Department’s action amounts to “bullying minors and leveraging taxpayer resources to do this” and that “better use of the public dollar will allow the Justice Department to confirm that all children have civil rights and protect students today.”
The “Model or Practice” survey is the second Dhillon office survey in the Los Angeles area. It is also investigating the issuance of gun permits in Los Angeles County.
Essayli's separate decision to support the Riverside lawsuit adds another wrinkle to an already complex case.
The group’s campaign to save girls is suing a trans athlete on the Girls track in October, who claimed the decision unfairly ran into a competitive Siggs boy and girl, and high school officials decided to stop students from wearing shirts reading, “It’s common sense.
Julianne Fleischer, attorney for Faith & Freedom, who represents Save Girls Sports, said Wednesday that Essayli welcomed the decision to weigh on the group.
"This case has always involved common sense, fairness and the clear meaning of law," Fleischer said in a statement. "Girls' movements have never been a social experiment. They exist so that girls can win, lead and thrive on a level playing field."
It is unclear how the case will be affected by Essayli's interests.
The state and school district demand that the lawsuit be dismissed. A hearing is planned next month.
Essayli, formerly a member of the Riverside County state legislator, attacked part of the reason he called California liberals’ “wake up” policy in Sacramento. Last month, other California lawmakers were appointed as U.S. lawyers last month, shortly before he locked out a bill he proposed that would prohibit trans athletes from participating in women's sports.
Hernandez, the mother of the target Jurupa Valley athlete, said Trump and other officials are bullying the children by "weaponizing misunderstanding and fear, rather than embracing truth, sympathy and respect" and demanding Trump reconsider.
“I would like to ask you to open your hearts and minds to understand what the LGBTQ+ community knows not from the voice of fear or division, but from people who live with courage, love and dignity,” she said.