Proposals seek new rules for transgender athletes in WA schools

The Washington Interscholastic Association of Athletics (WIAA) shared 16 proposed amendments for the 2025 Representative Assembly, which takes place in April.

Of the 16 proposed amendments, two are aimed at keeping transgender athletes out of girls sports.

The first was proposed by Lynden, Blaine, Brewster, Cashmere, Colville, Grand Coulee Dam, Lake Chelan, Mansfield, Mead, Okanogan, Omak, Oroville and Tonasket school districts and Lynden Christian School.

The proposal says that “all students are encouraged to participate in WIAA athletics and/or activities. Participation in girls’ sports and girls’ divisions is limited to students assigned female at birth.” Sports include the likes of volleyball and bowling, where there isn’t a boys division. The divisions include the likes of wrestling, basketball and track.

The listed rationale is that of a rule instituted by the Alaska School Activities Association. Their rule states: “Whenever a school has separate divisions based on sex, one team shall be limited to females who were assigned female at birth. The other team shall not be limited to either sex. However, a female is ineligible to compete on both teams during the same school year.”

There were five pros listed along with the first proposal, along with three cons. The pros:

1. Focus is on fair competition and protecting the integrity of female sports. Restricting girls’ sports to those assigned female at birth aims to maintain a level playing field, addressing concerns about potential physical advantages in certain sports.

2. Maintaining separate divisions for girls addresses safety concerns that could arise from physical differences in some sports.

3. The policy emphasizes inclusivity and encourages transgender and gender-diverse students to participate in athletics and activities. The policy aligns with local, state and federal guidelines that mandate equal opportunities for all students.

4. Provides clear eligibility guidelines by creating an open division and restricting girls’ sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth. Clarity within eligibility can ensure consistency across schools and sports. Female athletes, parents, coaches, and teams having a clearer understanding of who is competing within each division reduces the potential of unfair and vitriolic responses to successful transgender female athletes.

5. Transgender participation policies are currently being developed across all competition levels of organizations sponsoring sex-segregated athletics. The option of exploring an appeal process provides a potential pathway for gender-diverse student-athletes to participate in competition best-aligned to their physiological development.

The cons:

1. Restricting participation in girls’ athletics to girls assigned female at birth may spark legal challenges at federal and state levels. Although the policy states a commitment to inclusivity, some may interpret it as discriminatory based on gender expression or identity, particularly student-athletes who identify as female but are unable to compete in girls’ sports.

2. Any appeal process could be complicated and may involve medical evaluations that raise privacy and ethical concerns. Schools and athletic organizations may face challenges implementing and enforcing the policy, especially regarding medical assessments or appeals, leading to administrative burdens and potential inconsistencies in implementation.

3. Absent of an appeal process, the policy does not address how intersex athletes would fit into the existing sports divisions.

Second proposal

The second proposal declares that “all students have the opportunity to participate in WIAA athletics and/or activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity. Athletic programs will be offered separately for boys, girls and an open division for all students interested as outlined in Appendix 2.”

This was proposed by Eastmont, Cashmere, Colville, Lynden, Mead, Moses Lake and Thorp school districts. The eastern part of the state was shook up last May during the state track and field meet when Veronica Garcia, a transgender athlete, won the 4A 200-meter race. While Garcia was racing, there were protests, jeers and boos while she was running and eventually taking the podium at the state championships in Tacoma.

This was referenced in the reasoning by the school districts bringing the rule to the WIAA: “It prevents further deviance from the legislature’s intent of RCW 28A.600.200 such as that which occurred at the 2024 WIAA State Track and Field Championship while following the WIAA Gender Identity policy. The winning athlete in the race had competed as a boy in previous seasons, and the WIAA policy resulted in diminished achievements for girls in the race and those that failed to qualify. The fist biological girl in the State Championship race finished in second place, behind the biological male athletes recognized as the State Champion girl.”

But transgender athletes are allowed to participate and have been for 18 years: “All students have the opportunity to participate in WIAA athletics and/or activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity,” according the current WIAA Handbook.

Which is the very language that this rule is looking to overturn, here is the language that is currently struck-through in the proposal. “Athletes will participate in programs consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed. School personnel responsible for student eligibility will work collaboratively with the student-athlete to determine eligibility. Once the student has been granted eligibility to participate in the sport consistent with their gender identity, the eligibility is granted for the duration of the student’s participation and does not need to be renewed every sports season or school year. The WIAA staff is willing to collaborate with any member school seeking assistance regarding gender equity. For additional information on Gender Identity, refer to Appendix 6.”

Additional proposals

Additional proposals, announced on Dec. 10, include a reformed transfer rule aimed at slowing down the rate at which kids are transferring to and from schools. Students who transfer during the newly defined “window of transfer,” which runs from the final day of school to the start of tryouts for the next year. As it stands right now, the window of transfer is just from a student’s eighth grade year to the start of their freshman year. But now it is extended to all four years of high school. If a student transfers in that timeframe, they will be ineligible for 40% of the next season if they do not have a hardship defined by the WIAA.

The proposed amendment does not supersede current rules regarding bona fide residence changes, the one-year varsity ineligibility period, restrictions on transfers for athletic reasons, and bans on illegal recruiting, as current rules related to each will remain intact.

Other notable proposals are for baseball — if a coach doesn’t follow proper pitch count regulations, they are to be suspended just like if they were ejected from the game. This aims to protect pitchers’ health and puts the responsibility on the coach, rather than the player and team.

Girls flag football was also proposed to become an official sport, a vote which failed last year, much to the dismay of many involved.  

All proposals will be finalized by the WIAA Representative Assembly during a virtual meeting on Jan. 27. The final vote on the proposed amendments will be cast and tallied by the WIAA Representative Assembly from April 9-18, 2025.