SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation Thursday into Camas School District in Washington's Clark County, the latest effort by the Trump administration to curtail the civil rights of transgender people in the U.S.

According to a Friday press release, the education department’s Office for Civil Rights will investigate whether the school district violated Title IX by allowing a trans girl to participate on the girls high school cross-country team.

President Donald Trump and his Education Secretary Linda McMahon have made removing transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports a priority, with Trump signing an executive order in February 2025.

The Trump administration has also banned transgender people from serving in the military, halted federal funding for pediatric gender-affirming care and declared the federal government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and that “these sexes are not changeable.”

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funding. Biden-era interpretations of Title IX gave protections to students based on their gender identity and sexual orientation, but the Trump administration rescinded that interpretation.

Trump officials have argued that allowing transgender girls to participate in girls sports jeopardizes the safety and the equal opportunities of cisgender girls. Since Trump’s return to office, the education department has launched numerous investigations against school districts allowing trans girls to participate in girls sports, including some in Washington state.

The Camas School District has been in a firestorm of scrutiny this fall over its girls cross country track team, which includes a transgender girl who had previously competed in the boys category.

In its news release, the Department of Education referred to the girl taking an ice bath with teammates during a cross-country meet trip and making flirtatious comments to another girl while on a bus to a meet, citing an article from Clark County Today. The department said it would investigate the Camas district’s failure to respond to “alleged sexual harassment” in these incidents.

Camas School District spokesperson Doreen McKercher confirmed in an email Friday that the district had received formal notice from the education department, and said it will cooperate fully with the investigation.

The notification states that opening an investigation “is not evidence of a violation of federal civil rights laws,” McKercher said.

“We recognize that this situation has generated strong feelings and significant public attention, but our focus remains on the students at the center of it,” Superintendent John Anzalone said in a statement Friday.

“They deserve to learn, compete, and enjoy their school experiences without becoming the focus of a national debate. We will continue to put their safety and well-being first while working cooperatively through this process.”

The district will not comment on individual students or confidential investigative details, McKercher said.

The debate over whether trans girls should be allowed to participate in girls sports hit a critical point last week, as voters in Washington approved Initiative 638, a ballot measure that will ban transgender girls from competing in K-12 girls sports.

Proponents of the initiative argued it’s unfair to allow transgender girls to compete with cisgender girls. Critics of the initiative said defending the rights of transgender athletes is part of a broader effort to enshrine protections and build acceptance for gender-diverse people in society.

Under the new law, set to take effect Dec. 3 but already facing a legal pushback, all girls wanting to compete in girls individual or team sports must submit documentation from a healthcare provider that “verifies the student’s biological sex.” This documentation must come from an examination or provider’s confirmation of the student’s “reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels,” according to the initiative’s text.

“The voters in Washington stood up for women and girls in their state — and the Trump Administration stands with them as we continue to fight for safe and fair athletic opportunities through across the country,” U.S. education department assistant secretary for civil rights Kimberly Richey said in the news release announcing the Camas investigation.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the state’s nonprofit governing body for interscholastic sports, has a longstanding policy allowing student athletes to compete in the category consistent with their gender identity. The association says it is aware of no more than 10 transgender athletes competing each year, out of an overall number of approximately 225,000 student athletes statewide.

Both the WIAA and school district have previously said the trans girl’s participation on the Camas High School girls cross country team has not violated any rules. The Seattle Times is not naming the student because she is a minor who has not given her consent to be identified.

In October, 13 Camas runners walked off the start line in protest of their transgender teammate competing with them. Other members of the girls team have expressed support for her participation.

At the 4A state cross-country championship race earlier this month, the last race of the season, the Camas team finished 12th. The transgender girl placed 23rd out of 155 runners.

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