U.S. education officials investigate MCPS policies on transgender students in sports

U.S. education officials investigate MCPS policies on transgender students in sports

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June 25, 2026 11:44 a.m.

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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), along with two other Maryland school districts and the state’s education department, is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in connection with its policies on transgender students in sports.  

In a Tuesday statement, the federal education department announced it was opening investigations into the Maryland State Department of Education, MCPS, Prince George’s County Public Schools and Frederick County Public Schools to determine if the state and the districts “violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) through policies that permit boys to participate on girls’ athletic teams and access girls’ intimate facilities,” referring to transgender students.  

In a Tuesday statement regarding the investigation, MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez said “MCPS remains committed to providing safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments for all students and to complying with applicable federal and Maryland laws and regulations. As the matter is now under review by the Office for Civil Rights, we have no further comment at this time.”  

The investigations arose out of a complaint to the federal education department alleging that Maryland’s guidance and district-level policies “require schools to allow boys to compete in girls’ athletics and to use girls-only locker rooms, restrooms, and overnight accommodations,” placing “the burden on those girls to seek alternative facilities,” according to the statement. 

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“The practice of allowing students to access sex-separated programs and facilities based solely on self-asserted ‘gender identity’ is deeply troubling and raises significant legal concerns,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey in the statement, who was nominated by President Donald Trump . “We will fully investigate these allegations and take appropriate action to ensure compliance with federal law.”   

The investigation into MCPS is yet another of a series of challenges to the district’s policies for LGBTQ+ and transgender students. Those challenges include the June 2025 U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow families to opt out of curriculum with LGBTQ+ characters and an April 7 complaint filed by America First Legal, a conservative legal group, that argues the district’s guidelines regarding student gender identity violate the U.S. Constitution and student privacy laws.   

In May, MCPS announced changes to its guidelines. One change requires staff to release information about a student’s gender identity if a parent or guardian requests it, marking a shift from the previous guidelines.  

Also, according to the recently updated gender identity guidelines, students must be allowed to participate in a manner consistent with their gender identity whenever schools provide gender-segregated physical education classes and intermural sports. 

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Additionally, the guidelines outline that transgender and gender nonconforming students are allowed to participate in interscholastic athletics teams based on either the student’s sex assigned at birth, or the gender to which the student has transitioned, or the student’s gender identity “consistently asserted at school.” 

For sports competitions held at non-MCPS schools, accommodations provided at the home school should be allowed “with consent of the student” and the MCPS coach should notify the school about any necessary accommodations while keeping the student’s identity confidential.  

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine