Washington school board begs state to keep trans athletes out of girls' sports after girls were affected
11/19/2024 08:42 PM
A public school board in Washington state passed a resolution on Tuesday urging its athletic conference to reconsider its current policies that allow trans athletes to compete in girls' sports.
The Central Valley School Board, which oversees schools in Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, Washington, voted to send a message to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) over the issues after much debate at a school board meeting.
The resolution, titled "Supporting Equity and Safety in Female Sports," claims that the entire board is comprised of female members who have either competed in athletics themselves or have daughters who competed in athletics.
One of those women, an unidentified current cross country runner, shared her experience of having to compete against one of those athletes during the hearing.
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"When I ran cross country for Greenacres Middle School, a boy who was biologically male but identified as female competed on the girls' team," she said. "While I respect everyone's right to participate in sports, the situation made me question the fairness of competing of someone who had the physical advantage associated with male biology."
Still, some speakers expressed opposition to the bill.
One speaker, a parent named Dr. Pam Kohlmeier, shared her experience of losing a child to suicide amid opposition to trans inclusion.
"It was two years ago to the date when i addressed this board, but than it was an anti-trans policy about bathrooms, and I shared at that time don't know how many of you were here at that time. My Katie died by suicide that fall. This is a real issue. It is hurting real people every single time it is debated," Kohlmeier said.
But ultimately, the board ruled in favor of the resolution.
The board passed its resolution and by doing so sent an official letter to the WIAA and Washington state legislators.
"Students born male, including transgender girls or non-binary boys, have a biological advantage over students born female. Therefore, unless a sport category is deemed co-ed, those born male should continue to be welcome to enjoy fair play within male sport categories," the resolution reads.
"As our legislators, we respectfully urge you to address current inequalities and safety concerns effecting girls' and women's sports before further injury or loss of opportunities occur."
Washington, as a long-time deep-blue Democrat stronghold, has state laws in place to protect trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports.
The WIAA policy states that each athlete will participate in programs "consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed," and there are not even any medical or legal requirements. Bills that would prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls' and women's sports have been introduced but not passed.
Washington's west coast relatives, Oregon and California, as well as Nevada, all have similar laws.
In the U.S., 23 states have laws in place to restrict or prevent transgender inclusion in girls' and women's sports. However, federal interference by the Biden-Harris administration and multiple federal judges who were appointed by Obama have allowed it to happen anyway.
In April, the Biden-Harris administration issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX's ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions."
And while the administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports.
Democrats have tried to push forward the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has had revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls sports teams." In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights."
Multiple U.S. states have their own laws to restrict or prevent transgender inclusion in women's sports. However, even some of the states with those laws have had incidents where transgender inclusion in girls' sports was enabled via the ruling of a federal judge.
Judges Landya McCafferty in New Hampshire and M. Hannah Lauck of Virginia, both of whom were appointed during the Obama administration, each issued rulings this year that enabled biological males to play on high school girls soccer and tennis teams. McCafferty issued an order that allowed two transgender athletes to compete in New Hampshire, while Lauck ruled that an 11-year-old transgender tennis player was allowed to compete against girls the same age in Virginia.
However, it's an issue that has recently divided the Democratic Party amid the recent red wave election results. Many in the party who have signed the bills that would allow trans inclusion in girls' and women's sports at a federal level have backpedaled in their stance and even denounced the idea in recent months. These include Texas Rep. Colin Allred and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton.
And now, citizens in West Coast blue strongholds like Washington and California are standing up to it.
Over the weekend, Stone Ridge Christian High School, located in Merced, California, forfeited its state playoff match because its opponent "has a male athlete playing for their team," the school said.
Now the Central Valley School Board has continued that trend.
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