An Illinois high school association has announced it will ignore an executive order from President Trump that bars biological male athletes from participating in high school girls’ sports, the second to defy the order.

The president of the Illinois High School Association, Dan Tully, said an existing state law supersedes the federal order. “The Illinois Human Rights Act requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender they identify,” he said in a letter to Illinois Republican lawmakers. 

“As a result of the foregoing, compliance with the Executive Order could place the IHSA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa,” Mr. Tully said. He also sought to straddle the issue, writing that ISHA “simply desires to comply with the law and takes no position as to which of the foregoing is correct or whether there can be alignment between claimed federal and state law.”

Mr. Trump’s executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” and issued in February, has sparked legal and political conflicts across the country. The State of Maine, which previously refused to comply, is now facing a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The defiance sets up a battle between the federal government and states. During a February meeting with governors, shortly after Mr. Trump issued the executive order, he threatened to yank federal funding from Maine if the state defied the order. Janet Mills, the state’s Democratic governor, responded: “We’ll see you in court.”

The IHSA, which represents more than 800 schools and operates without state or federal funding, maintains that decisions regarding transgender participation in women’s sports are handled on a case-by-case basis. The organization considers factors such as whether the gender identity change is “bona fide and/or for the purpose of gaining competitive advantage.”

Illinois law has provided protections for transgender athletes since 2011, when a measure was passed by Democratic lawmakers allowing biological males identifying as female to participate in women’s sporting events. 

The IHSA’s policy has drawn criticism, particularly from Republican lawmakers. Blaine Wilhour, who is a state representative, voiced his concerns during a recent press appearance. “The whole policy is sick,” Mr. Wilhour said on Fox News. “Either you believe in fair competition or you don’t. The Democrat Party today… does not believe in fair competition. They put their woke ideology over protecting girls in sports.”

“I think every school district needs to make it clear that we are protecting the sanctity of girls sports, and we believe in local control of those decisions,” Mr. Wilhour said. “I would demand that all of your local districts take this stand and do that. Because when push comes to shove, we win on these issues, but we just need people to be bold and step out there and do the right thing.” 

Another state lawmaker, Reagan Deering, has sponsored a bill that seeks to ban biological males from participating in female sports. He said “none of us Republicans were satisfied” with the IHSA’s stance. 

“We pressed them on their plan to align with federal policy, which recognizes the truth that there are two sexes – male and female…. We want our girls to be protected. We want them to continue being treated fairly, as guaranteed under Title IX,” Mr. Deering said, according to Center Square. “The IHSA responded by basically saying, ‘Sorry, we’re in an untenable position.’”

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against Maine, alleging that the state is not complying with federal efforts to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. 

The Department of Justice, along with the Department of Education and Health and Human Services, claims that Maine’s education agency is violating federal law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls’ sports teams. The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring Maine to direct schools to bar transgender females from participating in athletic competitions designated for cisgender females.

Maine officials have declined to accept a proposed settlement from federal authorities that would have banned transgender students from participating in school sports. They argue that the state’s interpretation of Title IX allows space for schools to permit transgender athletes to compete in accordance with their gender identity.

Maine’s attorney general, Aaron Frey, said he believes the state is acting in accordance with both state and federal law. “Our position is further bolstered by the complete lack of any legal citation supporting the Administration’s position in its own complaint,” he said in a statement. “While the President issued an executive order that reflects his own interpretation of the law, anyone with the most basic understanding of American civics understands the president does not create law nor interpret law.”