Proposal to limit transgender athletes' participation in sports blocked in Washington state

Washington state’s governing body for middle and high school athletics has determined that its proposed rule changes for transgender student athletes would violate state law.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has been considering two proposed rule amendments: One that would prohibit trans girls from competing in girls sports, and another that would create a third open division for trans students to compete in instead.

The WIAA Representative Assembly is expected to vote on these proposals — and 14 others — April 9-18. If passed, rule changes typically go into effect in August.

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But now, the amendments related to trans student athletes will be an “advisory vote only," according to the WIAA website.

Sean Bessette, director of communications for WIAA, said Monday that a “legal review” has found the proposed rule changes conflict with state law — and unless the law changes, they can’t be implemented.

“The WIAA remains committed to following state law,” Bessette wrote in an email.

That review, Bessette said, was based on communications from the Washington state Attorney General’s Office, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Since 2007, WIAA’s policy has allowed trans students to participate in sports programs consistent with their gender identity. At that time, it was one of the first policies of its kind in the nation.

But the issue has become increasingly controversial — and deeply political — in recent years, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” It bans transgender girls and women from participating in girls sports, and directs the federal government to withhold funding from educational institutions that don’t comply.

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In response, WIAA said it would wait to make any changes until it received further legal guidance.

State Superintendent Chris Reykdal called the order a federal overreach that “directly contradicts” state laws banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity. He advised districts to continue to follow existing guidance from his office, which says “schools are required to allow all students, including transgender and nonbinary students, the opportunity to participate on the interscholastic sports team that most closely aligns with their gender identity.”

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In a letter to WIAA executive director Mick Hoffman March 19 that was later forwarded to all superintendents, Reykdal reiterated that stance, writing that OSPI is “concerned” the proposed amendments would violate state laws.

“We have confidence that WIAA would not implement these amendments if they were to pass in their current form,” he wrote.

A day later, the Attorney General Office’s Wing Luke Civil Rights Division sent WIAA another letter, saying they believed the amendments not only violated state and federal civil rights laws, but also students’ rights to privacy under the Washington State Constitution.

Emily Nelson, assistant attorney general, wrote that the proposed amendments relating to trans athletes “disregard” privacy protections for student athletes and the process could be “invasive and traumatic.”

The proposed amendment to bar transgender girls from participating in girls sports said eligibility would be determined by original birth certificates or an affidavit from a licensed physician. In the case that a student is intersex, the policy called for appeals to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Beyond the eligibility process, Nelson said the proposed amendments could cause additional, greater privacy concerns for students.

“For transgender student-athletes, the Amendments risk exposing them to potential harassment by forcing them to play on a team that does not match their gender identity or appearance, and barring them from the sports communities many of them have participated and competed in for years,” Nelson wrote. “It could also result in transgender students electing to forgo sports altogether, to the detriment of their physical and mental health.”