WIAA says vote on member amendments banning transgender athletes violates state law

Changes to transgender participation in high school sports inspired by a Trump administration executive order won’t be coming to the state, according to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). The organization will only allow advisory votes on amendments intended to ban transgender female athletes from competing in girls’ sports.

The first proposed change in high school sports would limit “participation in girls’ sports to biological females.” It was submitted by the Lynden, Blaine, Brewster, Cashmere, Colville, Grand Coulee Dam, Lake Chelan, Lynden Christian School, Mansfield, Mead, Okanogan, Omak, Oroville and Tonasket school districts.

The second proposal would define three separate competitive divisions: One for boys, one for girls, and an open division for all students interested. It was submitted by the Eastmont, Cashmere, Colville, Lynden, Mead, Moses Lake and Thorp school districts.

However, these changes violate state law, according to the WIAA. No matter how the WIAA Representative Assembly votes, current policy allowing for transgender female athletes to compete in girls’ sports will remain in place.

“The WIAA has been told by the Attorney General’s office, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction that (the) proposed amendments would be a violation under current Washington state law, affirming our attorney’s legal review,” Sean Bessette, director of communications for the WIAA, said in a statement obtained by The Seattle Times. “The WIAA remains committed to following state law, and those amendments focused on gender-identity participation would not be implemented on August 1 if they were to pass under current state law.”

Washington became the first state to establish policy on allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports consistent with their identity through the WIAA. The first ruling on transgender participation in high school sports came in 2007.

How WA’s ruling conflicts with the Trump administration

These decisions are now challenged by President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order, dubbed “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” That executive order demands that school districts receiving federal funding via Title IX must align with the administration’s view on this issue.

Chris Reykdal, Washington state superintendent of public instruction, issued a statement the following day, saying Trump’s order “directly contradicts state law.”

“We are working closely with the Attorney General’s Office to understand the next steps for our state and for our school districts in response to this unlawful order,” Chris Reykdal, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said in his statement via The Seattle Times. “One thing is clear: The 47th President of the United States is disregarding the rule of law by attempting to unilaterally impose an attack on the specific student groups that anti-discrimination laws aim to protect.”

The Kennewick School Board has requested a federal investigation into the state Superintendent’s Office over the conflict between the executive order and state law.

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