Maine principals fight DOJ request for student names in transgender athlete case

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine principals' group is fighting a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice that seeks the names of all students playing interscholastic sports in the state as the DOJ attempts to ban transgender athletes from participating.

President Donald Trump's administration sued Maine in April for not complying with an executive order barring transgender athletes from sports. The Justice Department followed up with a subpoena of the Maine Principals' Association, a nonprofit that oversees school sports in Maine, seeking a host of information.

The full scope of the subpoena isn't public because a judge sealed it. However, in a Sept. 4 legal filing, the principals' association said the subpoena included “requests for the production of all athletic rosters for the state," and would require providing "personally identifiable information of students, many of whom are unrelated to the underlying controversy."

The principals' association asked the judge to reject the subpoena, and that request is pending in federal court. James Belleau, an attorney for the association, said Thursday that the group is willing to provide documents in response to the subpoena, but not those that are overly broad or disclose personally identifiable information.

“The MPA will protect confidential student names and records and school personnel,” Belleau said.

DOJ officials did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General also declined to comment on the case.

The federal government said in court papers this month that it believes its request for student information is “highly relevant” and “proportional to the needs of this important case concerning boys playing in sports designated for girls.”

The federal government's filing stated that its requests include records for athletic competitions where students are competing in athletic events designated for the opposite sex. It also states that the request for athletic rosters is “necessary background evidence” for the case.

Maine and the federal government have sparred over the subject of transgender participation in sports since a February meeting at the White House that included a confrontation between the state's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Trump. During the meeting of governors, Trump threatened to pull funding from Maine if the state did not comply with his order banning transgender athletes.

Mills told the president: “We'll see you in court.” The U.S. Department of Education later said in March that an investigation concluded Maine violated the Title IX antidiscrimination law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams and use girls’ facilities.

Maine officials said in April that the state still won't comply with the ban, and the federal government referred its investigation to the Justice Department.