Stefanik Urges Federal Probe of Saratoga Schools
US Representative Elise Stefanik’s official 115th Congressional portrait via her website.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, whose district includes parts of Saratoga County, wrote a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Monday calling for a federal probe of the Saratoga Springs School District over its alleged “direct violation” of President Trump’s executive order banning trans athletes from competing in girls’ sports.
A copy of the letter, which was first obtained by the New York Post, said that the district’s recent “Affirming Our Support for Every Student” resolution also violated Title IX of federal education law, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and programs that receive federal funding.
“Allowing biological males into girls’ sports and locker rooms is in direct violation of President Trump’s executive order,” Stefanik stated in the letter. “Our daughters should not be forced to compete against biological men in competitive sports or share a locker room with biological men. Under Title IX and articulated in President Trump’s Executive Order 14201, educational institutions that receive federal funding must be in compliance with Title IX’s requirements to protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports. I join President Trump in his commitment to protect our nation’s girls and daughters. This Far Left woke ideology has no place in our communities.”
Stefanik’s letter comes in the wake of increasing national scrutiny of the Saratoga school board’s resolution, which didn’t change any of the district’s existing policies, but did push back against the Trump administration’s stances on both transgender students and DEI policies.
On April 10, the Riley Gaines Center sent its Ambassador Kaitlynn Wheeler to a Saratoga school board meeting. Wheeler, who advocates for “fairness and the protection of female athletes,” said in a press release that the board had departed from federal protections designed to ensure fairness in women’s sports.
At that same meeting, Dr. Emanuel Cirenza, the district’s physician advisor, said that he could think of only one example of a trans athlete in the district during the last 28 years. “To a large extent, this is very much a manufactured controversy,” Cirenza said.
Critics of the resolution often say that the district’s federal funding could be threatened by the resolution, although Board Vice President Tony Krackeler has said that the $3.1 million in federal funds received by the district are only amendable by an act of Congress.
Stefanik is reportedly considering a run for governor after her nomination for UN ambassador was withdrawn last month.