The Trump administration filed suit against California on July 9, alleging that it violated Title IX of the Civil Rights Act by allowing boys to compete in girls’ athletics and use female locker rooms.

“The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement.

“Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities, and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”

The Justice Department’s lawsuit was the latest escalation in a series of legal battles over women’s athletics, which the Supreme Court recently agreed to review in cases about Idaho and West Virginia.

California has drawn the attention of the Justice and Education departments for how it handles women’s athletics.

Both departments have previously announced investigations into the state’s compliance with Title IX, which forbids recipients of federal funding from engaging in sex-based discrimination in schools.

The law has been wielded by both sides of the gender debate to allege that states are unlawfully regulating athletics.

Just days before the lawsuit, California education officials refused to enter a proposed resolution agreement with the federal Department of Education, which had determined that the state violated federal law.

California Department of Education general counsel Len Garfinkel told the federal government that the state “respectfully disagrees” with its analysis of the issue.

Named as defendants in the July 9 case, the California Department of Education and California Interscholastic Federation have been accused of violating Title IX and federal regulations.

As a remedy, the Justice Department is seeking a permanent injunction “prohibiting the participation of males in athletic competitions designated for females” and a monitoring and enforcement system to ensure compliance with Title IX.

In its lawsuit, the Justice Department cited multiple examples of cases in which it stated that female athletes have been displaced by male athletes in girls’ competitions.

The California Interscholastic Federation did not respond by publication time to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, and the state’s education department stated that it could not comment on pending litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the federal Department of Education’s current allocation of funds for the state’s education department is approximately $44.3 billion.

The Trump administration recounted how a female student in California had reported a “traumatizing” experience of a male watching her and other female students undress in a locker room.

“The male student had no reason to be in a locker room other than to watch the girls undress,” the Justice Department’s lawsuit reads.

It also argues that “by denying female student athletes sex-separated intimate facilities, Defendants substantially increase the risk of sexual harassment, assault, and voyeurism in girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.”

The lawsuit came a day after a similar one was filed in Oregon by a Trump-aligned nonprofit.

These follow a broader attempt by the Trump administration to combat gender ideology in medicine, sports, and other areas such as the military.

On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that “the policy of the United States” was “to recognize two sexes, male and female.”

He directed the executive branch to define “women” or “woman” and “girls” or “girl” as “adult and juvenile human females, respectively.”

His order defined “female” as “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.”

Another order from February states that it was the federal government’s policy “to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”

According to the July 9 lawsuit, the California Interscholastic Federation requested guidance from the state’s education department regarding these two executive orders.

California Superintendent Tony Thurmond responded in March by telling the federation to continue complying with California law, specifically Section 221.5(f).

That section reads, “A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

Chase Smith contributed to this report.