AUGUSTA — The Maine School Superintendents Association supports a bill that would align the state with Title IX and President Donald J. Trump’s executive order pertaining to participation on girls’ sports teams.

The bill, LD 1337, introduced by Rep. Elizabeth Caruso, R-Caratunk, amends the Maine Human Rights Act to be in line with Title IX for girls sports.

It is complementary to LD 868, another Caruso-sponsored bill that would require sports teams to be designated as male, female or coed, and would prohibit students who are assigned male at birth from competing in girls’ sports. It also cites instances of athletic locker rooms, bathrooms and lodging during travel.

If both bills pass, they would bring Maine in compliance with federal Title IX guidelines and in line with Trump’s executive order: “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports.”

The Maine Schools Superintendent Association’s support for LD 1337 clashes with the steps taken in support of the Maine Human Rights Act by the Maine Principals’ Association, the group that oversees high school sports.

However, the Maine School Superintendents Association, which represents superintendents across Maine, has indicated it does not support LD 868, Caruso’s related bill.

“The Maine Principals’ Association and schools have been held back by the Maine Human Rights Act and it has hindered schools from abiding by President Trump’s executive order,” Caruso said. “LD 1337 allows them to comply with that.”

The executive order signed by Trump in February aims to keep transgender girls off of girls’ sports teams and cites Title IX as the reason for doing so. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools or other educational programs that receive federal funding.

The Trump administration defines transgender girls and women as biological boys or men, adhering to an executive order Trump signed on his first day in office that states the federal government will only recognize two genders, male and female.

Currently, under the Maine Human Rights Act, transgender students in Maine can play sports on the team that aligns with their gender identity.

A spokesperson for the Maine School Superintendents Association said the organization is not ready to comment on its position on the bill, despite indicating its support on its website. The association publicly posts its positions on legislative bills.

“There are several other bills in the Legislature on this very sensitive issue that the MSSA Legislative Committee does not support,” Robbie Feinberg, association spokesperson said. “We are currently developing our testimony on all of these measures, and we also understand that there will be more bills coming later on in the legislative session. Until we see and have considered all of these bills, we are not prepared to share our testimony on this one LD.”

Carl Gartley, the Kennebec regional legislative representative for the superintendents’ association, referred a reporter to the group for a comment.

The Maine School Superintendents Association and the Maine School Boards Association are housed under the Maine School Management Association, which provides sample policies for school districts and can help school boards in the process to hire a superintendent.

It differs from the Maine Principals’ Association, which represents the state’s principals and oversees and regulates high school sports.

The Maine Principals’ Association has defended its position in following the Maine Human Rights Act, a state law that grants civil liberties on race, gender, religion, and other areas, to all Mainers. It has received national heat from the groups’ refusal to sign a resolution agreement that aligns with the Trump administration’s executive order to prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports.

Maine schools receive 10.7% of their overall funding — about $250 million — from the federal government to support Title I, which supplements state and local funding for low-achieving children, especially in high-poverty schools; school lunches; and special education. It is unclear if any federal funding is in jeopardy because of the decision by the MPA and Maine Department of Education to not sign the Trump administration’s agreement.

Jared M. Bornstein, an attorney at Preti Flaherty and a spokesperson for the Maine Principals’ Association, said the association is currently complying with the law and Maine Human Rights Act.

“We encourage stakeholders and decision makers in the statehouse to have the debate about what the law and our policy will be moving forward. MPA is neutral on all current pending legislation and will testify in an information providing neither for nor against position,” the association spokesperson said. 

Meeting minutes from February show the association’s executive committee met with Pender Makin, commissioner of the Maine Department of Education, who reminded the association that Maine schools follow state law, not federal law, specifically when referring to the Title IX executive order made by the Trump administration.

Makin stated the same position when several Maine schools faced a federal injunction last year over the Biden administration’s updated Title IX policies that included a policy for protection against discrimination over gender identity.

Caruso hopes the bill will bring an equal opportunity for female athletes. In addition to sports, she said, it aims to protect women in same-sex shelters.

“Basically, without single-sex athletics, there is no equal athletic opportunity,” she said. “There is no equal athletic opportunity if biological males are completing in female sports. It’s not equal anymore. That is the premise for Title IX.”