You would not fundamentally change who you are to play sports. I do not see that as a reasonable outcome of this policy. – Jordan principal Tom Sherwood
MIDVALE — The Utah High School Activities Association approved its first-ever policy regarding the participation of transgender student athletes in high school sports.
Utah is just one of eight states without a policy dealing with how — and if — transgender athletes can participate in high school sports.
“As we have come to understand today, there are no policies regarding transgender athletes, so we feel it’s important to present one,” said UHSAA attorney Mark Van Wagoner, who was asked to draft a proposed policy several months ago. “This is something with which we need to deal. …It’s better for us to have a policy about it than it is to have us make a decision based on arbitrary…factors.”
The new policy received only minimal discussion in Wednesday’s Executive Committee meeting, which voted unanimously to adopt the policy. The policy must be approved by the UHSAA’s Board of Trustees on Aug. 27 in order for it to become a reliable guideline or enforceable rule.
The new policy requires schools to make the determination as to whether a student is eligible to participate in a gender-specific sport – like girls basketball or girls volleyball (for which there is no sanctioned male option). Right now, if there is no gender-specific alternative, girls are allowed to participate on boys teams, but boys are not allowed to participate on girls teams.
Van Wagoner said that is to protect women’s athletics. It is the same guiding principle behind the new policy.
“I think it is arguably mandated by Title lX,” he said. “We are suggesting to the schools, the districts and the principals that their decisions be made on evidence that’s presented to them, not taking the position that a simple declaration of gender identification is sufficient.
Jordan principal Tom Sherwood said his school and district are already dealing with issues surrounding accommodating transgender students.
“Our district has tried to get out in front of it quite a bit,” he said. “We had one student who recently wanted to change their name from a traditionally female name to male, and we did that because we determined it was in the best interest of that student to be called by the name by which they identify. …We want them to be comfortable.”
Principals and coaches have raised concerns about shared bathrooms and locker rooms. Sherwood said they’ve already dealt with the bathroom issue at Jordan by converting some facilities into gender-neutral bathrooms, which are available to anyone.
None of the administrators said they’d dealt with a transgender student asking to participate in athletics yet, but most agreed it’s only a matter of time.
Sherwood said this year one of his transgender students struggled with how to take a required physical education class.
“One of our (transgender) students is taking PE online,” Sherwood said. “(The student) doesn’t want to be the first person to navigate these waters. …But there is going to be somebody to push the envelope, and say, ‘I deserve to go into this locker room.’”
One issue that’s often raised is that of a student born with male biology who says he identifies as a girl. Should she be allowed to compete with and against other girls? Would boys do that just so they could play women’s sports?
Sherwood scoffed at that possibility.
“You would not fundamentally change who you are to play sports,” Sherwood said. “I do not see that as a reasonable outcome of this policy.”
The more likely issues are those of accommodation and protecting the integrity of women’s athletics. The group said they want students to be comfortable — and that means both the transgender student and those students with whom they are competing.
Sherwood said where students change and how to protect them are things that could be worked out, but it’s a much tougher debate to discuss whether transgender student-athletes should be allowed to participate on the gender-specific teams with which they identify. He added that fear and uncertainty were not reasons to avoid dealing with what can be a complex and uncomfortable issue.
Van Wagoner expects this discussion is an evolving one, and said this policy is likely the first of many attempts to balance fair play, the needs of an individual student and the welfare of the larger groups affected.
He said the UHSAA is not the organization that should make the initial determination about eligibility.
“The Activities Association has no expertise in determining gender,” he said. “But we do have expertise in competitive balance and the integrity of women’s sports. We retain the right to review those decisions. …in the ordinary way we would for any complaint.”
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