The Trump administration’s latest deadline for Minnesota to change its rule that allows transgender girls to participate in high school girls sports appears to expire Jan. 2, yet exactly what happens next — and when — has not yet been determined.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Sept. 30 declared Minnesota in violation of Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funds. It gave the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) 10 days to change a decade-old bylaw allowing athletes assigned male at birth to compete in high school girls sports or risk losing federal funding.

The initial deadline passed amid the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and lasted 43 days.

On Dec. 9, the OCR contacted the MDE and MSHSL again to see whether both parties were interested in signing a voluntary resolution agreement. The MSHSL and Minnesota DOE had until Dec. 15 to respond.

According to Linda McMahon, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the MSHSL did not respond by that date, and the MDE, through the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, refused to accept the proposed resolution or engage in negotiations.

The OCR gave a new 10-day deadline beginning Dec. 22, threating to initiate the administrative process to suspend or withhold funding if a resolution was not reached.

Here’s what to know about the ongoing dispute, an issue that cuts across the MSHSL, MDE and more than 300 school districts, each with its own political dynamics.

What’s the MSHSL policy on transgender athletes?

The Minnesota State High School League, a 110-year-old nonprofit association, creates and operates state tournaments for more than 600 member high schools across the state for athletics and fine arts.

The MSHSL board of directors in 2015 voted to open girls sports to transgender student-athletes. State law had already permitted girls to compete in boys sports.

Specifically, the bylaw states “in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations, the Minnesota State High School League allows participation for all students consistent with their gender identity or expression in an environment free from discrimination with an equal opportunity for participation in athletics and fine arts.”

Under the MSHSL bylaw, the process for establishing a transgender student-athlete’s eligibility includes written statements from a student’s parents or guardians and health care professionals regarding the student’s “consistent or sincerely held gender-related identity.”

The high school league says that its policy complies with state law.

What does the Trump administration want Minnesota to do?

The federal assertion that Minnesota is in violation of Title IX came after the Trump administration issued an executive order in February banning athletes assigned male at birth from participating in girls and women’s sports — and launched an investigation into the state high school league.

The Sept. 30 notice made several demands, including:

• Requiring the MSHSL to change its policy to ban transgender athletes from girls sports and use biological definitions of male and female.
• Issue statewide guidance that interscholastic sports must comply with Title IX and update related training, which would be federally reviewed.
• Apologize to female athletes who competed against transgender athletes and rescind titles or records held by transgender athletes in girls sports.

How many transgender athletes are there in Minnesota?

In its investigation, the U.S. DOE determined that the MSHSL, over several years, has allowed transgender athletes to compete in girls skiing (Alpine and Nordic), girls lacrosse, girls track and field, girls volleyball and girls softball.

The MSHSL, citing the Data Privacy Act, does not keep records of how many transgender athletes compete in the league’s sports and activities.

What does the Minnesota human rights law say?

The Minnesota Human Rights Act bans discrimination against protected classes, including discrimination based on gender identity.

The Minnesota Legislature added “gender identity” as a protected class in 2023.

What is the Minnesota Attorney General saying?

The Minnesota Attorney General’s office, on behalf of the MDE, has repeatedly rejected a proposed resolution from the Trump administration. The AG’s office is also using the courts to fight the Trump administration’s efforts.

On Dec. 2, the AG’s office added the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as defendants in its federal lawsuit challenging the interpretation of Title IX.

The initial lawsuit, filed in April, came in response to multiple threats by the Trump administration to sue the state and withhold federal funding if Minnesota did not comply with executive orders that banned athletes assigned male at birth from competing in female sports.

On Dec. 29, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the Trump administration’s threats “cruel” and “bullying.”

“The Trump Administration’s attack on a handful of teenagers who just want to play on their school sports teams is bullying, plain and simple,” Ellison said. “This cruel attempt to lash out at vulnerable kids is a violation of state law and it goes against our most deeply held values. Minnesotans look out for our neighbors, we don’t turn on them. We are not going to cave at the expense of trans kids or anyone else that need our protection.”

On Dec. 15, Minnesota Solicitor General Liz Kramer wrote to the OCR, referring to Sept. 30: “Minnesota does not accept the proposed resolution.”

Kramer referred back to her Oct. 10 letter that the “federal government would need to follow an extensive, multi-step administrative process before any federal funding to Minnesota education programs or activities could ever be terminated.”

She added: “I stand ready to seek emergency relief in court if any attempt is made to punish Minnesota for protecting transgender children.”

What have school boards or districts said about the threat?

In the fall, more than 200 school board members from across Minnesota signed a letter calling on the state to comply with the federal mandate.

Kirk Schneidawind, executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association, issued a statement in October noting there are more than 2,000 school board members across 329 school boards in the state who all have their own opinions.

“Public education governance is designed to reflect the diversity of thought within our communities,” he said. “Differences of opinion are not a sign of division; they’re a sign of democracy at work.”

What has happened in other states?

The Trump administration attempted to pressure Maine to change its policy by pulling funding for schools, with targeted cuts to federal school nutrition programs.

Citing Title IX violations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would “pause and, where appropriate, terminate categories of education programming in Maine.”

The cuts were aimed at grants to Maine’s Department of Education and the state’s schools, rather than the state’s athletic governing body.

According to the Maine Policy Institute, more than $3 million in school nutrition funding to the state was blocked. The state sued the USDA, arguing the freeze was put in place without due legal process and “jeopardized essential meal programs for students.”

A federal judge granted a temporary injunction to unfreeze the funds. The USDA and Maine eventually settled out of court, with no policy changes in place.

How much federal funding does Minnesota get?

Minnesota receives about 10%, or $1.4 billion, of its annual school funding from the federal government. That pays for a variety of programs, from services for students with disabilities to support for English language learners to school breakfast and lunch.

School nutrition money, which the Trump administration targeted in Maine, amounts to about $429 million this year in Minnesota.

Does the MSHSL get federal funding?

The MSHSL neither solicits nor receives state or federal funding. The league is a membership fee-based association. It generates its revenue by charging its member schools and their students annual activity fees, running state championship tournaments and signing broadcast and partnership deals.

Membership fee-based organizations, like the MSHSL, are considered publicly supported charities by the IRS.

Allison Kite, Joe Christensen, Cassidy Hettesheimer, Mara Klecker, Jim Paulsen and Nick Williams of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.