Minnesota's policy on transgender athletes in high school sports is leaving parents and school boards in limbo.

On Sept. 30, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services determined in a joint finding that the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League both violated Title IX. 

Federal officials told Minnesota to reverse the state's transgender athlete policy or lose federal funding. 

The debate over discrimination and Title IX protections played out in Elk River on Monday night. 

The school district was preparing to request for clarification from the MSHSL and MDE through a resolution, but school board chairman John Anderson told WCCO that, after it went through legal, the language got softened up and it lost support.

The resolution that was pulled urged the MSHSL, the MDE and lawmakers to review transgender student athletic policies for "fairness and safety in girls sports."

Board member Mike Nordos said the intent of the resolution was to urge the state high school league to side with the federal government to keep federal money, up to $4 million.

Board member John Anderson said last year, the Rogers girls softball team, which is in this district, played Champlin Park, which had a player he describes as a "biological male" on the team, giving what he called an unfair advantage.

A few school board members at Monday night's meeting disagreed.

"Let this play itself out," board member Sara Weis said. "This is a debate between federal law and state law. It needs to be worked out within the courts."

"I don't think it is fair for girls sports," board member Mindy Freiberg said. "It's just not fair. I do stand with girls and coaches."

A few people spoke at the podium during a public comment period during the meeting. One woman said the district is playing politics with students' lives.

"If this board were to pursue this policy barring transgender students from playing sports, I have to ask, who is going to enforce it? Who will inspect children's bodies and determine whether they're allowed to play? Who will be responsible for outing students, humiliating them?" the woman said.

The Forest Lake School Board sent a letter to MDE and the MSHSL asking them to follow federal law immediately.