Minnesota school board members sign on to letter in support of transgender athletes

Mara Klecker, Star Tribune on Oct 10, 2025

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More than two dozen Minnesota school board members and candidates have signed a letter in support of transgender athletes, calling for state and school leaders to affirm those students’ “right to fully participate in school sports.”

The letter released Friday by the nonprofit Gender Justice comes as the state awaits word on what “imminent enforcement action” the Trump administration may take after it demanded the state prohibit transgender athletes in girls’ high school sports. The Minnesota State High School League has not changed its policy.

The new letter counters an earlier one signed by more than 200 other board members from across the state who say the state should change its policy to avoid running afoul of what the Trump Administration has said is a violation of Title IX. Those board members raised concerns that the state could lose federal education funding if it does not comply.

The new letter, however, says the state’s Human Rights Law and Title IX protect transgender athletes’ rights and argues for their inclusion.

“Participation in athletics is a vital part of the educational experience, fostering leadership, teamwork, health, and belonging,” the letter states. “Excluding transgender students from school athletics undermines these educational goals and violates both federal and Minnesota legal protections.”

Its signatories as of Friday afternoon are all from Twin Cities-area school districts, including St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Osseo and Hopkins schools.

Sarah Davis, a school board member in St. Louis Park said the letter represents a “need to be standing up for transgender children, especially right now when they are under attack.”

Rachel Hartland, a Hopkins school board member, said the federal threat “feels like retribution against a state that is proud of its defense of communities that have been marginalized.”

The letter she signed, Hartland said, symbolizes that Minnesotans “will stand up for each other and our kids against anyone, including the federal government.”

Debate over the topic has rippled across the state since February when the Trump administration issued an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports — and launched an investigation into the Minnesota State High School League.

It intensified this month when the administration notified the league that it was in violation of Title IX and demanded the high school league change its policy within 10 days.

That deadline seemed to hit on Friday, but it was unclear what action the administration might take, or when, amid the federal government shutdown.

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