FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2019 file photo, Bloomfield High School transgender athlete Terry Miller, second from left, wins the final of the 55-meter dash over transgender athlete Andraya Yearwood, far left, and other runners in the Connecticut girls Class S indoor track meet at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn. In a response to a lawsuit brought by three female high school runners, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference maintains that it is exempt from Title IX, that guarantees equal access to women and girls in education, including athletics. The lawsuit argues that male anatomy gives the transgender runners an unfair advantage in violation of Title IX. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb, File)
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is getting involved in a federal civil rights lawsuit that seeks to block transgender athletes in Connecticut from competing as girls in interscholastic sports. Attorney General William Barr argues in a filing signed Tuesday that a state policy that allows athletes to compete as the gender with which they identify violates Title IX the federal law that allows girls equal educational opportunities, including in athletics. A state athletic conference argues its policy is in accordance with both federal law and a state law that requires public school students be treated according to their gender identity.
