(The Center Square) – On Wednesday night, the Kennewick School District voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that supports placing some transgender athletes into an “open” category.
According to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s handbook, athletes are allowed to “participate in programs consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed.” Some school districts are trying to change that.
The Lynden School District is sponsoring this latest amendment to the WIAA handbook for an open category for transgender athletes.
According to the resolution (page 30), “the Lynden School District has proposed an amendment to Article 18.16.0 of the WIAA handbook, which establishes a framework for gender identity participation by maintaining an ‘Open Category’ for all students, while reserving the ‘Girls Category’ for students whose biological sex is female, as determined by original birth certificate or medical affidavit…” and notes “this amendment aligns with KSD’s Resolution No. 10, 2023–2024, which affirms that ‘sex’ is defined as biological male or biological female as determined at birth, and commits to protecting fairness in girls’ sports and student safety…”
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, board member Dr. Josh Miller, who is an orthopedic surgeon, told those in attendance that his support for the resolution is based on irrefutable DNA evidence.
“I think I’ve expressed my opinion on this topic several times from a medical perspective. You know, it’s pretty straightforward,” he said. “The misconception is that if we just hold a couple of hormones, that suddenly that will change someone from being a boy to a girl or a girl to a boy. Puberty is more than just a couple of hormonal changes. It is far more complex.”
Miller explained that structural changes built into DNA are fundamental.
“To say that because someone identifies as something suddenly changes the structure of their DNA is absurd. It makes no sense. Their DNA doesn’t change because they want it to, or because they wish it to, or because they think it will. Their DNA will always be the same,” he explained. “I’m very supportive of any effort we can make to protect women’s sports, to protect our young women in sports, and to make sure that they have a fair playing field.”
Critics of a separate category for high school transgender athletes have pointed to the lack of sufficient numbers to form teams, the potential for increased discrimination and social isolation, and the undermining of the educational benefits of sports. Critics also argue that such a policy can be perceived as a form of discrimination by singling out transgender athletes and questioning their identity.
In a Thursday interview with The Center Square, Kennewick School Board President Gabe Galbraith acknowledged that the board’s resolution carries no legal weight and doesn’t change current policy regarding transgender athletes. Galbraith said it was important for the board to take a stand.
“This is us advocating, as well as reaffirming, our stance on essentially protecting girls’ sports,” he said. “Biological girls should have fairness within their sport, their locker rooms, and so we’ve passed resolutions. We’ve submitted Title IX complaints, and this just essentially supports what Lynden did and encourages others.”
He said he hopes other districts will follow suit to apply pressure on the WIAA.
“So, as they go to vote in the WIAA, maybe they’ll have 15, 20, or 50 school districts that have supported the change for this,” Galbraith reasoned.
Galbraith said the community is overwhelmingly in favor of the position the board took Wednesday night.
“You know, some people say this is a 90-10 issue. Even 80-20 is still significantly high,” he noted. “We had multiple coaches from our district come and talk about supporting what we were doing. I think multiple board members get told all the time as we’re out and about, just thank you for supporting and protecting our girls.”
Some other Washington school districts are pushing back on the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s directive to allow transgender student athletes to participate in sports based on their gender identity and not their biological sex, saying there’s a conflict between state and federal law.
Following his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender girls and women from competing in high school and college sports that receive federal funding.
The executive order grants federal departments, including the Department of Education, the authority to investigate schools and potentially rescind federal funds for non-compliance with the administration’s interpretation of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Political action committee Let’s Go Washington is currently gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would prohibit transgender girls from competing in K-12 girls’ sports.
