Just two weeks have passed, yet the controversy over Maine’s adherence to public education policies that place boys in girls’ sports and possibly see faux “females” entering the girls’ bathrooms keeps ratcheting up, with no end in sight.
On March 31, I reported for MRCTV that Maine’s Governor, Janet Mills (D), thumbed her nose at a Trump Department of Education (DOE) Title IX compliance mandate barring biological males from competing in girls’ sports.
And that turn of the screw came on the heels of Trump and Mills sparring the previous month in the White House, with Trump telling a defiant Mills that if she did not make the schools and state-subsidized colleges (both categories, federally subsidized, as well) comply, he would withhold federal funds from Maine and “see you in court” over it.
When Trump’s deadline of March 29 came and went, Mills, the Maine Department of Education (MDOE), the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA), and Greely High School brought on a showdown not only with the DOE, but with Department of Agriculture (USDA) – in court.
Now, that court has spoken, and the LA Times reports that the judge has told Trump he must “unfreeze” the funds:
“(Federal) District Court Judge John Woodcock issued a temporary restraining order Friday in a case brought by the state of Maine against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”
Perhaps you are wondering how a federal judge – a person who got his law JD from the University of Maine Law School and who swears an oath to the US Constitution – can issue such an order, when, of course, the US Constitution contains no provision in it for the federal government to sprinkle like fairy dust “education money” or “agriculture subsidies” on states.
Related: Maine Defies Trump's Title IX Mandate, Risks Federal Education Funding Battle
You won’t find an answer in the LA Times, but you will see details about how this money was attached to the USDA, as well…
“The lawsuit, brought by state Atty. Gen. Aaron Frey, says that the child nutrition program received or was due to receive more than $1.8 million (from the USDA) for the current fiscal year. Prior year funds that were awarded but are currently inaccessible total more than $900,000, the lawsuit states. The suit also says that the program was anticipating about $3 million that is typically awarded every July for summer meal program sponsor administration and meal reimbursement.”
And the timing is notable for another reason.
“The court's order came the same day Maine officials said the state would not comply with a ban on transgender athletes in high school sports in the wake of a Trump administration finding that the state violated antidiscrimination laws by allowing the students to participate.
The U.S. Education Department said in March that an investigation concluded the Maine Department of Education violated the federal Title IX law by allowing transgender girls to participate on girls’ teams.”
So, what is at stake?
Not only the meaning of male and female, but the concept of federalism, which the judge might want to take a moment to remember, and the fact that, if government-run schools are allowing males to enter girls’ sports, those girls are put at greater risk of injury in the sports and, possibly, in places like the locker rooms.
And that means the Fourteenth Amendment’s “Equal Protection” clause could become a factor.
The clause requires that all states which claim to “protect” people via statute and police and courts must protect everyone equally, and if the state politicians and bureaucrats actively are taking steps to mix the boys and girls, such actions could see parents bringing the state to court for violating the clause.
It was only December that the documentary “Kill Shot” was released, chronicling the severe injury North Carolina resident Payton McNabb suffered in 2022 at the hands of a male pretending to be female on an opposing volleyball team, and spiking the ball so hard, it caused brain-bleed.
Why a judge doesn’t seem to understand such risks is beyond belief.
Likewise, why a judge doesn’t grasp the fact that the feds are not supposed to be handing out cash to schools, or that the US Department of Agriculture and Department of Education are completely alien to the Constitution – that, also, is mystifying.
Related: U.S. Marine Hopeful Sues Baltimore Schools Over First Amendment Suspension
But perhaps the judge and others can learn these fundamentals, and the more basic fact that any collectivist political system presents the problem of the Tragedy of the Commons, pitting all taxpayers against each other in a never-ending battle for control of the collectivized resources.
In a private system, these kinds of problems swiftly would be addressed. People who don’t have kids could decide if they want to contribute, or spend their money on other things that help their lives and comport with their beliefs. Parents could better control the education of their kids, and money would flow to the educational establishments that perform the best.
Instead, we see arguing and grandstanding and court battles that feature judges who don’t even bother recalling the Constitution.
Perhaps some private schools will use this as a lesson – to teach children about federalism, and to teach them about adults who show utter disdain for the rules of the United States.