The federal lawsuit is the latest escalation in Gov. Janet Mills' standoff with the Trump administration over transgender athletes.
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“You cannot openly violate federal law against discrimination in education and expect federal funding to continue unaffected,” Maine Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins wrote in a letter to the governor last week.
Maine sued the Department of Agriculture on Monday, alleging the agency violated the law by freezing Maine's funding last week and that the freeze jeopardized school nutrition programs.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, is the latest escalation in Maine’s standoff with the Trump administration over transgender athletes, which began when President Trump chastised Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, at the White House in February. Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to punish the state if it does not comply with his order banning transgender women from playing women’s sports.
The federal government alleges that a Maine law banning discrimination against transgender people and a state policy allowing transgender athletes to play on girls' teams violate Title IX, the civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
“You cannot openly violate federal law against discrimination in education and expect federal funding to continue unaffected,” Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, wrote in a letter to Ms. Mills last week, according to the lawsuit. “This is just the beginning, although you are free to end it at any time by protecting women and girls under federal law.”
Aaron Frey, Maine's attorney general, argues in the state's lawsuit that Title IX does not prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls' sports. In fact, the complaint says, federal courts have ruled that civil rights laws require schools to allow such participation.
The state alleges that the Agriculture Department failed to follow required procedures before freezing the funding. Because the funding covers the salaries of workers who administer the school meal program across the state, as well as the cost of their phones and computers, the lawsuit says, stopping it jeopardizes the program.
“Under the guise of keeping children safe, the Trump administration is unlawfully withholding grant funds that go toward feeding children,” Mr. Frey said in a statement, adding that “this action is necessary to remind the president that Meng will not be intimidated into breaking the law.”
The state is seeking an emergency court order to restore funding.
Jenna Russell is a senior reporter covering New England for The Times. She lives near Boston.
For more information, see: US Politics, Donald Trump
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