The Minnesota Attorney General's Office has issued a legal opinion stating that President Donald Trump's Executive Order, which prohibits transgender students from participating in extracurricular activities consistent with their gender identity, does not override protections provided by the Minnesota Constitution or state laws. The office declared that adhering to this executive order would contravene the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA).
This opinion was requested by the Minnesota State High School League, seeking clarification on whether Executive Order 14201, titled "Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports," takes precedence over the MHRA and the equal protection clause of the Minnesota Constitution. Additionally, they sought to understand if compliance with this order could lead to claims against schools for violating the MHRA.
The Attorney General's Office determined that Executive Order 14201 does not preempt Minnesota law. For federal law to supersede state law, it must be impossible to comply with both simultaneously, or state law must hinder Congress's objectives. An executive order can only have legal force when issued under a statutory mandate or congressional authority. Since Executive Order 14201 lacks such backing and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 does not grant presidential directive power as law, it cannot override state legislation.
Furthermore, complying with the executive order by banning transgender students from activities aligning with their gender identity would breach the MHRA. The act explicitly forbids discrimination based on gender identity in educational institutions.
The MHRA emphasizes that full access to educational benefits without discrimination is a civil right. It states: “It is an unfair discriminatory practice to discriminate in any manner in the full utilization of or benefit from any educational institution…because of…gender identity.” Gender identity is defined within the statute as a person's intrinsic sense of being male, female, both, or neither.
In conclusion, prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in activities according to their gender identity would violate the MHRA according to this legal opinion.
The complete opinion can be accessed on the Attorney General’s website.