The U.S. Department of Education is investigating the Champlain Valley School District for its policy of allowing transgender students to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. The probe, announced on Wednesday, is one of 18 nationwide that the department’s Office of Civil Rights has launched into school districts, departments of education, and colleges and universities for violations of Title IX, a federal law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. A complaint about its policy prompted the investigation into Champlain Valley, Vermont’s largest school district, according to a press release. Others being investigated for similar policies include the New York City Department of Education, Foxborough Public Schools in Massachusetts, the University of Nevada-Reno and two school districts in Maine. “These policies jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities,” the press release states. In an interview on Wednesday, Champlain Valley superintendent Adam Bunting told Seven Days that he received an email from the U.S. Department of Education that afternoon, around the same time the press release went live. The email identified the school district — which serves around 4,000 students in Williston, Shelburne, Charlotte, Hinesburg and St. George — as “following a Vermont state policy that permits students to participate in sports and to access restrooms and locker rooms in accordance with a student’s gender identity.” Denying transgender students “equal opportunities to participate in all aspects of school life on the basis of their gender identity” violates Vermont’s Public Accommodations Act, the Vermont Human Rights Commission said last year. The state’s Agency of Education has also issued guidance that “generally, students should be permitted to participate in physical education and sports in accordance with the student’s gender identity.” After President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning transgender students from competing in girls’ sports last February, Vermont officials asserted that they would uphold the protections for LGBTQ students enshrined in state law. Bunting said he didn’t have any details about the investigation, nor did he know why his district was the only one in Vermont that was targeted. He said he had reached out to the Vermont Agency of Education, was preparing a letter to the school community and was hoping to learn more about the investigation in the coming days. Bunting said his top priority was making sure all students in his district feel supported. “No investigation is going to stop us from taking care of our kids,” he said. In his letter to the school community, Bunting encouraged people to “take care of yourselves and check in on others who may be distressed by this news.” “I want to assure you and all of our students that we remain steadfast in our commitment to honoring the identities of every learner,” he wrote. “We are grateful for each and every student in this district.” The press release from the federal education department notes that the new Title IX investigations come as the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments about whether transgender women and girls should be allowed to compete on womens’ and girls’ school sports teams. The conservative majority on the court has signaled they are likely to uphold states’ bans of trans athletes. The post Trans Athlete Policy Prompts Federal Probe of Champlain Valley Schools appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less