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The list of Minnesota school board members who signed a letter urging state agencies to protect girls’ sports from trans athletes has grown since it was launched earlier this week.
As of Friday afternoon, the number of school board members who had signed the letter was 245, spread across 104 school districts across the state. The same list had around forty signatures on Tuesday.
The added signatures come as the state faces a Friday deadline set by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to change its policies to exclude biological males from women’s sports. The DOE determined in late September that the state had violated Title IX with its current policies.
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The letter is addressed to Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Commissioner Willie Jett, Minnesota State High School League (MHSSL) Executive Director Erich Martens, Board of Directors Chairman Brett Schimek, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Governor Tim Walz is copied on the letter.
“Compliance with Title IX is not only a legal obligation but also essential to maintaining the integrity of our educational and athletic programs,” the letter states.
“Protecting fairness in women’s sports is paramount. The federal decision highlights how allowing men to compete on women’s teams keeps female athletes off the podium, denies them opportunities for advancement, and diminishes their visibility and recognition in competitions.
“Female students in our districts and across Minnesota deserve equal opportunities to excel in athletics, without unfair physical advantages conferred by biological differences. By entering into the Resolution Agreement, MDE and MSHSL can ensure equal treatment and foster an environment in which female athletes can thrive. »
Ellison responded to the letter, insisting that letting men participate in women’s sports “doesn’t hurt anyone.”
“School sports are not only a good way to exercise, they help kids build friendships, give them a sense of belonging and teach them important life lessons, like how to work as a team, how to treat your competitors with respect and how to win with grace and lose with dignity,” Ellison said. “Allowing a very small number of Minnesota transgender students to play on their school sports teams doesn’t hurt anyone, but isolating them does. Exclusion is a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which has protected the right of trans children to participate in all extracurricular activities for decades.
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“I, too, am concerned about the Trump administration’s threats to cut education funding for Minnesota’s children, but that matter is currently before the courts,” he added. “The federal government’s threats violate the U.S. Constitution, Minnesota law, and Title IX itself. I am fighting to prevent these harmful budget cuts, end the administration’s intimidation of transgender children who simply want to live their lives in peace, and protect the rights and freedoms of all of our Minnesota students.”
Ellison’s response comes despite several female high school athletes in her state speaking out about the impact of the experience of competing against trans athletes, while some have even filed lawsuits over it.
Three anonymous girls filed a lawsuit against state education agencies in the spring after confronting a transgender softball pitcher.
One of the plaintiffs previously told PK Press Club Digital what it was like to play against the trans pitcher.
“This issue has affected me in ways I never imagined. It’s just unfair, and I hate that nothing will change that,” the player said. “Boys shouldn’t be able to take girls’ places on teams just because they can. I hope more girls affected by this issue will speak out against it.”
Another anonymous player directly called out Ellison for supporting policies that allowed the trans pitcher to play against women.
“It’s really upsetting to know that. [Ellison] does not take the rights of girls and women seriously. He’s allowing boys to compete with girls, and it’s not safe and completely unfair,” the player told PK Press Club Digital. “To know that AG Ellison fully supports letting boys and men take advantage of women in sports is absolutely disgusting and wrong.”
Former White Bear Lake High School softball player Kendall Kotzmacher previously told PK Press Club Digital that her loss to a trans pitcher in the state tournament left her in tears.
“How do you acknowledge that you lost to a biological male? How do you process these events that happened? And it was something all night, I still couldn’t do it. … We lost to a biological male in a girls’ state tournament,” Kotzmacher said.
Kotzmacher also highlighted Walz’s history as a high school football coach and having seen the physical prowess of male high school athletes up close.
“As a coach, you should see the differences and the big difference that exists between biological males and biological females,” Kotzmacher told PK Press Club Digital.
If Minnesota state agencies do not reach an agreement with the Trump administration by Friday evening, it will likely result in legal action from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ has already filed similar lawsuits against Maine and California over this issue.
MDE and MSHSSL did not immediately respond to PK Press Club Digital’s request for comment.
