Canton and Bloomfield are being investigated for federal violations into Title IX violations, the Connecticut Mirror reports.
U.S. Department of Education to probe whether allowing transgender students to play sports, use facilities aligned with gender identity violates federal law
By Jessika Harkay
Connecticut Mirror
HARTFORD, June 4, 2025 — Bloomfield and Canton Public Schools are the latest targets of federal investigations into Title IX violations, the Connecticut Department of Education confirmed Tuesday.
The probes come after Cromwell Public Schools received a similar notice last week, informing the district that the U.S. Department of Education was investigating whether it was violating federal law by allowing transgender students to participate in sports and use facilities aligned with their gender identity.
At the time, representatives with the state Department of Education said Cromwell’s was the only such investigation they were aware of. Now there are three.
A spokesperson from the state Department of Education said the new investigation notices were sent directly to district officials in Bloomfield and Canton and that the department had not received copies. The department was notified by the districts and was aware of the investigations, the spokesperson said.
If the districts are found in violation of Title IX, millions of dollars in federal funding could be at risk: roughly $1.26 million for Cromwell, $3.3 million for Bloomfield and $700,000 in Canton.
Superintendents Tracy A. Youngberg, of Bloomfield, and Jordan E. Grossman, of Canton, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Cromwell Superintendent Enza Macri wrote to district parents over the weekend, according to a report from WFSB. “As a public school, we make it a priority to create a welcoming and nurturing environment where all students can participate in our educational programs,” she wrote. “At the same time, we are fully committed to following federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination in educational programs. We are keeping both of these priorities at the forefront as we review our policies with the Office for Civil Rights.”
Policy questions
The investigations follow several executive orders from President Donald J. Trump that have reshaped the federal Department of Education — particularly with respect to Title IX guidance and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Under the new rules, the federal Education Department will enforce Title IX “on the basis of biological sex in schools and on campuses.”
Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination, was extended under former President Joe Biden to students who identify as LGBTQ+ and added protections for transgender students. But after Trump took office in January, he reverted Title IX protections back to the 2020 guidance that was issued during his first administration.
Rep. Christie Carpino, R-Cromwell, sent a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont Monday seeking guidance with respect to what she called “conflicting policies at the state and federal level.” The investigation and funding threat, Carpino wrote, “seem to stem from a problem created by the State.”
“We are a small town that values the education and safety of our students,” she wrote. “We are now being faced with mounting legal fees and the potential loss of almost $1 million dollars, annually, for no reason other than dichotomy between state and federal policies.”
Lamont disagreed Tuesday, saying the state was compliant with federal statute and adding that Connecticut “will continue to adhere to those laws.”
“What we will not adhere to is divisive bullying in our schools or targeting of transgender students, who deserve to have their rights protected,” Lamont said in a written statement. “At a time when we’re trying to ensure that all students feel connected and engaged, discrimination and exclusion have no place in our schools or in our state.”
Connecticut law “prohibits discrimination based on gender, gender identity & expression and sexual orientation,” and shall offer “an equal opportunity to participate in the activities, programs and courses of study offered in such public schools, at such time as the child becomes eligible to participate in such activities, programs and courses of study, without discrimination on account of race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin or sexual orientation,” according to the state’s official website.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference says its policy to provide transgender student-athletes with equal opportunities consistent with their gender identity remains unchanged.
“Throughout this process, we continue to support the well-being of all student-athletes while abiding by federal and state law,” CIAC Executive Director Glenn M. Lungarini said, adding that his office has sought additional guidance from the Attorney General’s Office, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Connecticut State Department of Education.
U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, said in a statement he believed the towns were “being targeted — not for violating the law — but for simply following state and federal law that protects students from discrimination.”
“Whether it is immigrant families afraid of being targeted in their community or LGBTQ students afraid of being who they are at school, Americans see these attacks for what they are,” Larson added. “Our state and local athletic associations and coaches are better equipped than President Trump’s political appointees to make these decisions and ensure sports are nondiscriminatory for all players, and I have every confidence that they will do this effectively and appropriately.”
A common thread
Cromwell, Canton and Bloomfield are three of five school districts who were defendants in a 2019 lawsuit that sought to ban transgender athletes from participating in female sports.
Soule et al v. Connecticut Association of Schools was filed on behalf of four cisgender female high school track athletes who said the participation of transgender girls in their sport took away their opportunities for victory, public recognition, athletic scholarships and future employment and violated Title IX, according to the lawsuit.
Trump administration officials agreed in 2020 that Connecticut violated Title IX, but state leaders pushed back. In early 2021, when President Joe Biden took office, his administration withdrew support for the lawsuit and rescinded the Education Department’s threats to cut funding to the districts. At that time, a district court ruled in favor of the defendants to dismiss the lawsuit and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision in December 2022.
The case, however, remains ongoing after a larger panel of appellate judges from the 2nd Circuit Court sent the case back to the district court to consider the full Title IX claims. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint last year requesting athletic records be changed where transgender athletes participated.
Dan Barrett, legal director of the ACLU of Connecticut, said Connecticut was not then, or now, in conflict with federal law, nor is the state violating Title IX by allowing transgender students to participate in sports aligned with their gender identity.
“[State law] won’t be in conflict unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court or the Second Circuit rules that agrees with the plaintiffs in Soule and others like them and the current United States government, which is pushing this theory that Title IX actually requires discrimination — requires schools to discriminate against trans kids,” Barrett said. “If one of our higher appellate courts agrees with that theory, then yes, Connecticut’s law will come into conflict with Title IX.”
The federal government’s threat to pull funding “is a mechanism by which the current executive branch can advance its agenda,” Barrett said.
“Not just when it comes to the rights of transgender kids in Connecticut, but on a range of activities,” Barrett said. “They’re using either federal constitutional provisions or federal statues that would have preemptive effect, to nationalize discrimination and to override state laws that require people to be treated fairly.”
State Attorney General William Tong said in a written statement Tuesday that the investigations were “meanspirited and unlawful, and deeply harmful to all Connecticut students.”
He said precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County has “made it clear … that discrimination against transgender individuals is illegal under federal law.” Tong said his office is “considering all legal options within our authority to protect Connecticut’s students and schools.”
Danbury and Glastonbury Public Schools, who were also named defendants in the 2019 litigation, have not received Title IX investigation notices from the federal government to the knowledge of the state Department of Education.
This story was updated with a statement from U.S. Rep. John Larson.
Connecticut Mirror
