The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) has recently made revisions to its policy regarding transgender athletes. In an effort to establish clearer guidelines, the PIAA has replaced the term “gender” with “sex.” This change reflects a more precise understanding of the matter at hand.
The PIAA Board of Directors made a decision on Wednesday night that is in line with a presidential executive order called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
According to the revised policy, PIAA will accept the school’s decision regarding a student’s sex in cases where it is questioned or uncertain.
Jeremy Samek, a senior counsel at the Independence Law Center, provided insights into the implications of this change.
According to Samek, it is crucial for school districts to establish policies that classify sports as either male or female based on biological sex rather than concepts of identity.
The policy’s reliance on the executive order was criticized by Kristina Moon, a senior attorney at the Education Law Center.
“The executive order attempts to enforce a restrictive and impractical definition, as outlined in that EO, which asserts the existence of only two biological sexes. However, this goes against what scientists would explain about the complexity and diversity of our world,” Moon stated.
Samek also highlighted the policy’s goal of establishing uniformity throughout Pennsylvania.
“The executive order defines sex based on the biological differences between males and females, aiming to establish consistency throughout Pennsylvania,” he explained.
Moon believes that the executive order does not hold the same legal weight as Title IX, which specifically prohibits discrimination in schools.
According to Moon, an executive order does not carry the same legal significance as a statute like Title IX, which safeguards against discrimination in educational institutions. He emphasized that the executive order cannot overturn the numerous court rulings that have upheld the illegality of discriminating against transgender, intersex, and non-binary individuals under Title IX.
Samek highlighted the significance of adhering to compliance requirements when it comes to receiving federal funding.
According to PIAA, they have the best interest of all schools in Pennsylvania in mind. They emphasize that compliance with this law is essential as federal funding is dependent on it.
According to Moon, the policy has the potential to violate Pennsylvania state law.
According to an expert, schools in Pennsylvania may be risking a violation of state law by hastily complying with an executive order that lacks legal weight. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, a state discrimination law, explicitly prohibits sex discrimination in schools and includes gender identity and expression in its regulations. This means that schools, in their efforts to comply with the executive order, could potentially overlook the clear protections afforded to transgender students under state law.
