(CNN) — Three female student athletes sued their Southern California school district and state Department of Education, claiming they suffered sex discrimination under Title IX and civil rights violations when the defendants allowed a transgender athlete to compete on their high school track and volleyball teams.

The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, comes as the inclusion of trans women and girls in sports has emerged as a central focus in a broader, national targeting of the transgender community by Republican leaders and the Trump administration .

While the complaint does not name the transgender athlete, the description matches that of A.B. Hernandez , a Jurupa Valley High School senior who was thrust into the spotlig

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