| Danna Hayes, J.D. | Director of Public Affairs Office of the Maine Attorney General 6 State House Station | Augusta, ME 04333 (207) 626-8887 (direct dial) | (207) 626-8800 (main office) danna.hayes@maine.gov | www.maine.gov/ag |
April 11, 2025
Bradley Burke, Regional Director
Office of Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
Sent via email only, to: Bradley.Burke@ed.gov
Re: Response to Impasse Letter – Directed Investigation No. 01255902, Maine
Department of Education
Regional Director Burke:
The Maine Department of Education and the Maine Office of the Attorney General have
reviewed the draft Resolution Agreement and your Impasse Letter dated March 31, 2025. We
will not sign the Resolution Agreement, and we do not have revisions to counter propose. We
agree that we are at an impasse.
Nothing in Title IX or its implementing regulations prohibits schools from allowing
transgender girls and women to participate on girls’ and women’s sports teams. Your letters to
date do not cite a single case that so holds. To the contrary, various federal courts have held that
Title IX and/or the Equal Protection Clause require schools to allow such participation. See, e.g.,
B.P.J. v. West Va. State Bd. Of Ed., 98 F.4th 542 (4th Cir. 2024), cert. denied, 145 S. Ct. 568
(2024); Doe v. Horne, 115 F.4th 1083 (9th Cir. 2024); Tirrell v. Edelblut, 748 F. Supp. 3d 19
(D.N.H. 2024); Doe v. Hanover Cnty. Sch. Bd., No. 3:24CV493, 2024 WL 3850810 (E.D. Va.
Aug. 16, 2024).
Sincerely,
/s/ Sarah A. Forster
Sarah A. Forster
Assistant Attorney General
Sarah.Forster@maine.gov
SAF/tet
cc: Christopher C. Taub, Chief Deputy Attorney General
Kimberly L. Patwardhan, Assistant Attorney General
Pender Makin, Commissioner