The Philadelphia suburb’s school district is one of many schools across the country dealing with the issue of transgender athletic competition.
A Philadelphia-area school district is set to open girls’ sports to biologically male transgender athletes. The Central Bucks School Board is working to rescind a ban on transgender athletes participating in sports other than their born sex. Despite protests from parents at the recent meeting, the board’s intention to repeal the ban is part of a slate of pledges made by “the new Democratic majority.
The question of whether to allow transgender athletes has also been raised in Northwest Pennsylvania, with Warren County Schools Superintendent Gary Weber cautioning that an “across the board ban on anything” would invite litigation, and that the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association “washed their hands” of the controversy.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Education announced in August it was complying with new Title IX regulations implemented by the Biden administration, which has added protections for students from “gender identity discrimination.” Usually called “Title IX” as shorthand, the rules were originally put in place by the Education Amendments of 1972. The original intent of Title IX was to prevent school districts and state education agencies from discriminating within education programs or extracurricular activities on the basis of sex.
The volleyball team for the University of Nevada-Reno recently made an announcement that they will not participate in and forfeit an upcoming match against San Jose State, which has a transgender athlete on the volleyball squad. The players said they were frustrated the university committed to the match without consulting them and are forfeiting to “stand united in solidarity with the volleyball teams of Southern Utah University, Boise State University, the University of Wyoming, and Utah State University.” Those four schools also forfeited matches against SJSU. UN-Reno officials say they will continue with the match, citing Nevada law. The university indicated players will not be “subject to any team disciplinary action” if they choose not to participate.
This year saw a number of high-profile cases in which female public school and collegiate athletes have protested having to compete against trans athletes. In West Virginia, a group of middle school girls on the Lincoln Middle School track and field team “stepped out” of the ring when competing in shot put and discus throwing when a transgender athlete competed with the girls in those two events. After protesting the competition with a transgender athlete, the girls allege they were punished by the school for demonstrating free speech. In May, a West Virginia judge agreed and issued a temporary injunction to prevent the school from prohibiting the girls from participating in future meets.
In Washington state, a freshman female track athlete spoke out after coming in second to “a biological boy.” In New York, a group of female student athletes are organizing a “Walk Off for Fairness Day” for October 24th in protest of proposed new rules by the New York Department of Education that makes it easier for biologically male students to play girls’ sports.