The School Board for Maine School Administrative District 70 in Aroostook County is moving to align with the Trump administration’s Title IX policy, which does not allow transgender athletes in girls sports.

The school board voted unanimously Monday night at it’s monthly meeting to comply with Title IX by recognizing only two sexes – biological male and biological female and that all private spaces be separated by biological sex.”

The vote comes after mounting federal action against the state’s policy allowing transgender participation in sports.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights referred its Title IX investigation into the Maine Department of Education to the Justice Department for further enforcement action.

Late last month, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services referred a Title IX case against Maine to the Justice Department on the grounds of noncompliance.

MSAD 70 serves prominent towns in Aroostook County, which voted for President Trump by 18 points on November’s election.

The issue of transgender sports participation came to a head during a February meeting of governors in the White House where Gov. Janet Mills got into a heated exchange with Trump. The President said the state would not receive federal funding if it did not comply with his executive order. Mills said she has been complying with state and federal law, and told Trump: “We’ll see you in court.”

The Maine Human Rights Act includes language forbidding discrimination on the basis of gender identity. The Maine Principals’ Association, which governs high school sports in the state, allows transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

A poll by the American Parents Coalition found that 63 percent said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66 percent agreed with the statement that it’s “only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women.”