Federal Judge Dismisses DOJ Lawsuit on California Transgender Sports Policy

A federal judge has dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that sought to force California to change its policies allowing transgender girls to compete on school sports teams that match their gender identity. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela, leaves the state's rules intact and represents a significant legal setback for the Trump administration's national effort to restrict transgender athletes in girls' sports. The decision, handed down on September 1, 2026, centered on procedural grounds rather than the core debate over fairness in women's sports. Judge Valenzuela, an appointee of President Biden, ruled that the federal government failed to provide California with adequate notice that its $44.3 billion in federal education funding was contingent on excluding transgender girls from girls' teams. She wrote that Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education, does not clearly require every state to adopt biological sex-based eligibility rules. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in July 2025, accusing the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) of violating Title IX.