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Trans students could be banned from competing in girls’ sports in Washington state

caption: A girls' soccer team sits on a bench on the sideline.
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A girls' soccer team sits on a bench on the sideline.

Washington may join a growing number of states limiting how transgender youth can participate in sports.

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the agency that governs school sports, finalized language for two changes to the agency handbook on Monday.

One proposal would prohibit trans students from competing in girls’ sports. The other would create a separate co-ed division for trans students to participate in instead.

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Current WIAA policy allows trans students to participate in sports programs consistent with their gender identity. Established in 2007, the policy was the first of its kind in the nation.

As of Monday, over half of states have laws or agency regulations that limit trans students' participation in sports, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a think tank that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.

David VanderYacht, the superintendent of the Lynden School District, represented one of more than a dozen districts backing this effort.

The goal with these proposals, VanderYacht said, is to preserve fair competition and the "integrity" of girls' sports, while also keeping athletics inclusive and accessible to all.

"We want all our student athletes to benefit from being in community with other students, and sports and activities is an exceptional vehicle for that to happen," he said.

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The proposals are modeled after Alaska's approach, VanderYacht said. In 2023, the state's board of education voted to require the creation of a division limited to students assigned female at birth.

VanderYacht argued Washington's current policy is unfair to both girls and trans students. He recalled how he watched a transgender girl win a state track championship and her peers "did not accept her."

"My heart was broken," VanderYacht said. "They stood silently while they clapped for their other peers. We're in an environment that we need to protect our transgender student athletes."

VanderYacht wasn't specific about when that incident occurred. But he may have been referring to the reaction Verónica Garcia received last year when she became Washington's first transgender high school track champion. The crowd fell silent as she took the podium.

Opponents argue the proposals are discriminatory and violate state law.

In a statement late last year, La Rond Baker, legal director for the ACLU of Washington, called on WIAA members to uphold the state's existing policy, and said the organization will be "closely monitoring the situation."

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"The Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association has successfully administered its existing policy for over a decade," Baker wrote. "The policy is consistent with Washington's anti-discrimination laws and policies and respects the right of transgender students to participate in athletics consistent with their gender identity."

Several school administrators on the WIAA Representative Assembly tried to kill or table the amendments Monday, but they were unsuccessful.

The assembly will vote on the proposals in April. If passed with at least 60% of the vote, they'd take effect in August.

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