New Hampshire follows Trump's transgender sports executive order despite lawsuit from two trans athletes

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New Hampshire is following President Donald Trump's executive order to prohibit transgender athletes from competing against girls and women.

Prior to the order, according to New Hampshire Public Radio, the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association deferred to athletes and their districts on their eligibility.

But the association reversed course, citing a potential lack of federal funding.

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"In light of these developments, the NHIAA has consulted with legal counsel and determined that it would be prudent to further clarify the NHIAA's requirements," association Executive Director Jeffrey Collins wrote, adding schools have a responsibility to "comply with state and federal law."

WCAX noted that a statement from the Department of Education "commend[ed] the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association for changing its policies that allowed students to play on a team that matched their gender identity, not biological sex."

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed the state's Fairness in Women's Sports Act in July, but a lawsuit filed by the families of trans athletes followed and remains active.

The suit alleges the New Hampshire law Sununu signed violates constitutional protections and federal laws because the teens are being denied equal educational opportunities and are being discriminated against because they are transgender. 

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The teenage plaintiffs, Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, originally filed the lawsuit last year to challenge the law. Earlier this month, though, a federal judge granted a request to add the Trump administration to the list of defendants due to the president's recent executive order. 

The situation involving the two transgender athletes has also prompted a second lawsuit after parents wore wristbands that said "XX" in reference to the biological female chromosomes and were allegedly banned from school grounds. 

Trump signed the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order Feb. 5, which prohibited any federal funding for educational institutions that allow biological males to compete on women's or girls sports teams. 

New Hampshire was already one of 25 states with a law in place to enforce similar bans on transgender inclusion, but Tirrell and Turmelle have been allowed to compete on girls teams anyway due to a ruling by a federal judge in their state.

Representatives from California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maine have all said they would continue to follow state law and ignore Trump's order, which has resulted in Title IX investigations.

Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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