Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a pre-enforcement lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) in anticipation of imminent legal retaliation against California’s school systems. U.S. DOJ issued a letter requesting certification from California school districts that they will not comply with longstanding state anti-discrimination law that provides for the participation in sports for K-12 students consistent with gender identity. The California Department of Education notified U.S. DOJ that the state will not certify to its demands, which would require school districts to violate not only existing state law, but also the U.S. Constitution. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to uphold California’s anti-discrimination law and prevent the Trump Administration from taking retaliatory action, such as withholding or conditioning federal funding, over the state’s refusal to comply with U.S. DOJ’s unlawful demands. “The President and his Administration are demanding that California school districts break the law and violate the Constitution – or face legal retaliation. They’re demanding that our schools discriminate against the students in their care and deny their constitutionally protected rights. As we’ve proven time and again in court, just because the President disagrees with a law, that doesn’t make it any less of one. As California’s chief legal officer, I’ll always fight to uphold and defend the laws of our state, especially those that protect and ensure the civil rights of the most vulnerable among us.” – AG Bonta