Trump Administration Targets Cromwell Schools Over Transgender Sports Policy

CROMWELL, CT — The Trump administration is investigating the local school system for allowing transgender athletes to compete on sports teams that match their gender identity, rather than their sex at birth.

The U.S. Office for Civil Rights has notified the Cromwell Board of Education that the federal agency is reviewing the school district’s policies, according to Superintendent of Schools Enza Macri.

Macri sent a letter May 30 to the school community about the situation.

“As a public school, we make it a priority to create a welcoming and nurturing environment where all students can participate in our educational programs,” Macri said, in the notice. “At the same time, we are fully committed to following federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination in educational programs.”

“We are keeping both of these priorities at the forefront as we review our policies with the Office for Civil Rights,” Macri added.

The school district will provide updates to the school community as the investigation continues.

In February, President Donald Trump announced a presidential action, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” the action states. “This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

The government further states that under Title IX, educational institutions which receive federal funds can’t deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports. Failure to comply could mean loss of federal funding.

Several Democratic lawmakers issued a statement Friday on the Cromwell case, including Senate President Martin Looney, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff and State Sen. Matt Lesser.

“This is the first instance we know of where the federal government is directly targeting a local Connecticut school system,” the lawmakers said. “This administration feels brazen enough to weaponize federal resources to target our local schools and bully and discriminate against our LGBT children while gutting critical agencies like the Department of Education.”

“In Connecticut we have passed legislation that reaffirms our commitment to our students’ right to express their gender identity without fear of discrimination,” the statement says.

In January, Republican state lawmakers proposed a bill which would prohibit school boards or public colleges or universities from allowing anyone to compete on a gender-specific sports team that doesn’t match the gender on their birth certificate. It has been referred to the Joint Committee on Education.

The issue has been the subject of litigation in recent years, with cisgender athletes suing over policies that allow transgender girls to compete in girls’ high school athletics, claiming it gives an unfair advantage. The litigation objected to the participation of transgender girls such as Terry Miller of Bloomfield High and Andraya Yearwood of Cromwell High in girls' track and field. Both have since graduated from high school.