A federal judge has thrown out most of Minnesota's legal challenge to the Trump administration's Title IX policies on biological sex and sports eligibility, according to a report published by the Center of the American Experiment. Chief U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud issued a 44-page ruling that rejected Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's claims under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Tenth Amendment. Minnesota is now the sole state using the courts to contest the administration's executive orders that define sex as biological and bar biological males from women's sports competitions.
Judge Tostrud's ruling dismissed two major claims brought by Minnesota. The report states that Tostrud found Minnesota failed to show plausible final agency action in its Administrative Procedure Act claim, while separately determining its Tenth Amendment challenge lacked merit. The judge referenced the Supreme Court's recent West Virginia v. B.P.J. decision, which determined that Title IX permits schools to keep women's and men's sports teams separate based on biological sex. Tostrud did allow one claim to continue: Minnesota's argument under the Spending Clause, which contends the state wasn't properly notified that its Title IX approach could put federal education dollars at risk. Minnesota state law bars discrimination based on gender identity, but the judge viewed state-level protections and federal Title IX obligations as distinct legal matters.
Ellison said he was "pleased" the Spending Clause claim survived dismissal and looks "forward to proving in court that the President violated the Constitution." Meanwhile, advocacy efforts have intensified around Minnesota's school sports policies. Title IX MN, which formed in 2025, gathered signatures from over 300 school board members across Minnesota who called on state leaders and the Minnesota State High School League to align eligibility rules with federal Title IX to safeguard funding. A related effort called Make It Fair MN is now notifying Minnesota schools they can revise sports policies "without waiting for another legislative session, another election, or years of additional litigation." The MSHSL has permitted transgender students to compete on teams matching their gender identity since its board adopted that approach in 2014.
Make It Fair MN argues that the MSHSL board enacted the 2014 policy without a vote by the League's member schools. Under the MSHSL constitution, the 509 member schools can submit and decide on bylaw changes through two designated representatives from each school. The group has distributed a proposed amendment that would establish eligibility for sex-separated sports according to biological sex at birth. According to the report, this change could also resolve concerns raised in the Title IX lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice filed against the Minnesota Department of Education and MSHSL. Whether the amendment succeeds depends on action by MSHSL member schools and their appointed representatives, who hold the authority to modify league bylaws. The group contends such a policy shift would bring back "equal protection and fair competition" to Minnesota school athletics.