Minnesota School Board Members Demand Title IX Compliance Following Federal Violation Notice

(KNSI) — Nearly two dozen local school board members are among the hundreds who have signed an open letter calling on state education officials to immediately comply with Title IX regulations after federal agencies issued a Notice of Violation against the state’s Department of Education and High School League.

On September 30th, the Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to Minnesota Education Commissioner Willie Jett, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota State High School League Executive Director Erich Martens in response to federal findings that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) violated Title IX by allowing biological males to participate in female sports and access female-only facilities. It also alleges female athletes are being denied equal athletic opportunities as biological male athletes have an unfair physical advantage, displacing cisgender female athletes from podiums, shutting them out of advancement opportunities, and undermining the purpose of Title IX, which is to protect fairness in women’s sports.

The members who signed on are expressing strong support for accepting the resolution agreement offered by federal agencies to address the violations. The proposed agreement calls for districts to outline specific actions that will remedy the issue and detail how similar instances will be prevented in the future. The letter warns that continued noncompliance risks jeopardizing federal financial assistance for schools across Minnesota.

The MDE received substantial federal funding, totaling approximately $2.96 billion from the U.S. Department of Education and over $11.9 million from the Department of Health and Human Services in 2024.

The school board members say the current policies hurt girls’ sports and put female students’ privacy, safety, and fair opportunities at risk. They say local districts need clear direction from state leadership instead of being left to figure it out on their own.

Locally, the members who have signed on are:

Becker:

Connie Robinson

Big Lake:

Lenette Brown
Chelsey Hancock
Derek Nelson
Ashley Schabilion

Eden Valley-Watkins:

Christina DeRose

Holdingford:

Ed Feia
Rob Knettel
Lori Opatz

Melrose:

Josh Thieschaefer

Monticello: