The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a civil‑rights investigation into the Camas School District in Washington following complaints that a male student was allowed to compete on the girls’ cross‑country team, shared a hotel room with female athletes, and allegedly harassed them during an invitational meet.
Allegations and Initial Response
Parents of Camas High School’s girls’ team reported that the male runner entered a hotel room shared by three female athletes, took an ice bath in their bathroom, and made unwanted sexual advances while the team traveled to Arlington for the Nike Hole‑in‑the‑Wall XC Invitational. They also claim the district’s independent investigator asked the girls if they were “transphobic” and if they “hate trans people.”
The district is accused of failing to address these concerns promptly, prompting the federal probe. OCR will determine whether the district violated Title IX, the 1972 law that bars sex discrimination in any education program receiving federal funds.
State Initiative and Legal Challenge
The investigation comes shortly after Washington voters approved Initiative 638, which bars male students from competing in athletic activities designated for girls. The Trump administration has publicly backed the measure, with Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey stating, “The voters in Washington stood up for women and girls in their state – and the Trump Administration stands with them as we continue to fight for safe and fair athletic opportunities across the country.”
On Tuesday, the ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice, and Pacifica Law Group filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Washington Education Association, TransFamilies, and several parents seeking to overturn I‑638 and block its enforcement. The initiative is slated to take effect on December 3, and similar measures have already passed in Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska.
Background on the Athlete’s Participation
The controversy began when the male runner competed in boys’ races early in the season before switching to girls’ events. He placed 76th in a boys’ junior‑varsity race on September 5, then finished second among 195 runners in a girls’ JV race on September 26, and won a girls’ varsity race on September 29. Female athletes protested his participation, with nearly half of Camas’s girls’ team walking off the starting line on October 13. Additional protests occurred at later meets, including a solo walk‑out by a Battle Ground sophomore on October 21.
Statistical analysis of race results shows that removing the boy’s finish time would have dropped Camas’s team ranking from fourth to eighth in the regional Westside Classic, potentially affecting state qualification for both Camas and rival schools.
Federal Action and Title IX Enforcement
President Donald Trump’s February 2025 executive order on women’s sports directed federal agencies to act against educational programs that deny female athletes equal opportunities. The Department of Education resumed enforcement of the 2020 Title IX regulations after a federal court vacated the Biden administration’s rewrite and formally reinstated the earlier rules in October 2026.
OCR’s investigation will examine whether the Camas School District’s policies and responses complied with Title IX’s requirement that schools provide equal athletic opportunities based on biological sex, not gender identity. A violation could result in the loss of federal education funding for the district.
Other Washington Districts Under Scrutiny
Camas joins several other Washington districts—Cheney, Sultan, Tacoma, and Vancouver—that were placed under federal Title IX investigations in early 2026 for allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Federal officials also opened a Title IX probe into Tumwater in February 2025 after a female basketball player faced district pressure to compete against a male athlete.
The ongoing investigations highlight a growing national debate over the intersection of gender identity, athletic fairness, and parental rights, with the Trump administration emphasizing the protection of female athletes and the preservation of traditional sports structures.
Original reporting: Clark County Today (Vancouver WA) — read the source article.
