The probe, announced Friday, is the latest in a series of federal inquiries the Trump administration has launched against school districts that permit transgender girls to play on girls' teams. It lands in a Clark County community that has spent the fall at the center of a statewide and national debate, and it comes days after Washington voters approved a ballot measure barring transgender girls from K-12 girls sports.

According to the department, investigators will look at whether the district ran afoul of Title IX, the federal law barring sex-based discrimination in education programs that receive federal funding. The agency pointed to two incidents reported in local media: the student taking an ice bath with teammates during a cross-country meet trip, and making flirtatious comments to another girl on a bus to a meet. Federal officials said they would examine the district's failure to respond to what they described as alleged sexual harassment.

Camas School District spokesperson Doreen McKercher confirmed Friday that the district had received formal notice of the investigation and said it would cooperate fully. She noted that the notification states that opening an investigation is not evidence of a violation of federal civil rights law.

Superintendent John Anzalone said the district's priority remains its students.

"We recognize that this situation has generated strong feelings and significant public attention, but our focus remains on the students at the center of it," Anzalone said in a statement. "They deserve to learn, compete, and enjoy their school experiences without becoming the focus of a national debate. We will continue to put their safety and well-being first while working cooperatively through this process."

McKercher said the district would not comment on individual students or confidential investigative details.

The Camas team drew intense scrutiny this fall after it emerged that a transgender girl who had previously competed in the boys category was running with the girls squad. In October, 13 Camas runners walked off the start line in protest of her participation, while other teammates publicly expressed support for her. At the 4A state cross-country championship earlier this month, the final race of the season, Camas finished 12th as a team and the transgender girl placed 23rd out of 155 runners.

Both the district and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the state's nonprofit governing body for interscholastic sports, have said her participation did not violate any rules. The WIAA has long allowed student athletes to compete in the category consistent with their gender identity and says it is aware of no more than 10 transgender athletes competing each year among roughly 225,000 student athletes statewide.

The federal action follows a hard-fought statewide campaign. Last week, Washington voters approved Initiative 638, which will bar transgender girls from competing in K-12 girls sports. The measure is scheduled to take effect Dec. 3 but is already facing legal challenge. Under the law, girls seeking to compete in girls individual or team sports must submit documentation from a health care provider verifying the student's "biological sex" based on reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup or endogenous testosterone levels.

Proponents argued that allowing transgender girls to compete against cisgender girls is unfair, though there is no serious scientific evidence that trans girls or women are better athletes than cisgender girls or women. Critics said defending the rights of transgender athletes is part of a broader effort to build acceptance and legal protection for gender-diverse people.

"The voters in Washington stood up for women and girls in their state — and the Trump Administration stands with them as we continue to fight for safe and fair athletic opportunities through across the country," Kimberly Richey, the Education Department's assistant secretary for civil rights, said in the release announcing the investigation.

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has made removing transgender athletes from girls and women's sports a priority, signing an executive order on the issue in February 2025. His administration has also moved to bar transgender people from military service, halted federal funding for pediatric gender-affirming care and declared that the federal government will recognize only two sexes. The Education Department has opened numerous investigations into districts that allow trans girls to play on girls' teams, including others in Washington state.

The Camas investigation adds another layer of uncertainty for a district navigating a new state law, a pending court challenge and intense local emotions — all while its students finish a cross-country season that became a proxy for a national argument.