October 7, 2025
In 2014 when the Minnesota Legislature was a Democrat trifecta, they passed the radical “Safe & Supportive MN Schools Act” (aka “The Bullying Bill”) which introduced radical gender ideology into every Minnesota school district. Just weeks later, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) rushed to mandate trans-boys’ participation in girls’ sports. The Child Protection League exposed and blew the whistle on the logical implications of that policy just as we had the “Bullying Bill” in 2014.
CPL ran this full-page ad in the Sunday Star Tribune on September 28, 2014:
It stunned the public and suddenly MSHSL’s secretive policy change exploded into controversy. Their radical amendment became mired in protests. But with the help from President Obama’s U.S. Department of Justice – they pushed through a policy forcing every district which wished to remain in the MSHSL, to allow transgender boys to play on girls’ teams and change in girls’ locker rooms.
Across the state, Minnesota has suffered and fought that oppressive action since 2017.
Next, they rolled out the “Transgender Toolkit”.
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) called it “A Guide” for K-12 schools, and the “Transgender Toolkit” became the roadmap for school policies. Minnesota’s “Toolkit” became national news.
Again, CPL alerted the public to the serious implications of the “Toolkit: Three Things To Know About the ‘Toolkit.’ Yet, driven by radical leadership within the Department of Education and federal funding incentives, the Toolkit became standard policy for Minnesota School Districts.
But true to President Trump’s promise to stop federal funding for radical gender ideology, on September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a joint press release finding that Minnesota Violated Title IX.
The MSHSL policy and MDE’s “Toolkit,” they charge, are in clear violation of federal antidiscrimination law, Title IX of the federal Civil Rights Act and it must stop!
From the press release:
MDE’s 2017 “Toolkit for Ensuring Safe and Supportive Schools for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students” wrongly holds that “Title IX requires schools provide transgender students with the right to participate in…athletics in a manner consistent with their gender identity.” It further stipulates that “transgender and gender nonconforming students should be afforded the opportunity to use the restroom of their choice.” Additionally, MSHSL guidelines state that it “allows participation for all students consistent with their gender identity.”
“For too many years, Minnesota’s political leadership has found itself on the wrong side of justice, common sense, and the American people. Now the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League find themselves on the wrong side of Title IX by allowing males to compete in women’s sports,” said ED’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “The Trump Administration will not allow Minnesota or any other state to sacrifice the safety, fair treatment, and dignity of its female students to appease the false idols of radical gender ideology. Once an education program or entity takes federal funds, Title IX compliance becomes mandatory. [Emphasis added.] And the federal government will hold Minnesota accountable until it recognizes that fact.”
Within 10 days of September 30th, Minnesota must “rescind or revise” their guidance. “To the extent State law conflicts with Title IX, federal law preempts State law,” states the press release.
The Democrat-led state legislature, the MSHSL and the Governor Dayton administration’s education department began forcing these destructive programs onto every school district in our state since 2014, 2015 and 2017 respectively. These policies have amounted to a true hostile take-over of Minnesota schools. They have been the culmination of a silent cultural revolution which began over forty years ago. Radical gender ideology is a key part of this revolution, and the consequences have been devastating for children and families.
Will the Walz administration and the MSHSL double down and challenge the ruling in court? Will they seek a temporary restraining order? Will the Supreme Court of the United States ultimately decide?
Please let the MSHSL, the MDE and the Governor know that you expect them to comply with federal antidiscrimination laws and save Minnesota the time and expense of an appeal they will surely lose. Please tell them it is long past time that they get on the right side of our Constitutional Law and protect all students based upon their biological sex—not assumed gender identities. Minnesota State High School League
2100 Freeway Boulevard, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430-1735
(763) 560-2262
Erich Martens, Executive Director & Chair of the Board of Directors, emartens@mshsl.org
Minnesota Department of Education
400 Stinson Blvd NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
651-582-8200
Willie Jett, Commissioner, mde.commissioner@state.mn.us
Marquetta Stokes, Executive Assistant, mde.contactus@state.mn.us
Office of Governor Walz
130 State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155.
651-201-3400
@GovTimWalz on X
Governor Tim Walz on FaceBook
Email contact: https://mn.gov/governor/connect/contact-us/contact-form.jsp