The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s annual rule-making process called the Representative Assembly most years does not create significant buzz. Well, for the high school sports governing body in that state and its leaders, this year is a much different story.
The association announced the package of rule-change proposals high school principals and athletic directors from around the state will get to consider next spring at the Assembly meetings on Tuesday and headlining them are a pair of proposals dealing with transgender athletes. The two proposals are paired together. One would make girls sports only available to athletes who are born as female, and a second would create three separate divisions for high school sports in Washington – boys, girls, and a new “open” division that would accommodate transgender student-athletes.
The issue has taken on a national focus in recent years and was seen as an issue that aided the recent election of Donald Trump as president. In Washington, the issue is getting attention thanks to several school district boards this fall passing symbolic measures calling on state high school sports leaders to address the topic. Several of those districts, most on the east side of the state, are spearheading these proposals.
Whether the measures have any chance of passing is not clear; the proposals will be formalized at a meeting in January before being voted on by the WIAA membership. If passed, the changes take effect for the 2025-26 school year. There are a number of issues, though, that are likely to make passage of both of these proposals challenging at best. First, the individuals that will be voting on these proposals in the Assembly are high school and middle school principals and athletic directors, many of whom are likely not to be comfortable with the idea they may be making moral judgements about perhaps some of their own students.
It is as a result likely that many of these administrators will defer their decision-making to that of their local school boards and superintendents and vote the way they are directed to by those higher-level school officials. This could force many school boards, especially on the west side of the Cascades in the state, to have to take official positions on these proposals in the coming weeks, debate and discussion which is likely to be heated on both sides of the topic.
Additionally, there are also fears of legal action, which if that came true, could seriously drain the financial capacity of the non-profit organization, potentially risking its bankruptcy, and there is also a general vibe that has existed around this process and the association’s board of directors over the years which suggests they are very slow to embrace and accept change.
Further, the proposal calling for that third “open” division for sporting competition could result in the need for schools to create additional teams for that division in some sports, meaning additional money needing to be spent on high school sports when districts in recent years have had to make cuts impacting basic educational programs. This was a factor in an Assembly decision last year to not make girls’ flag football an official high school sport in Washington; proponents of that are back this year ironically seeking approval again, but with the attention and controversy stemming from the proposals regarding transgender athletes, it is likely to take a back seat.
The measures have already attracted media attention from around the state, and are likely to be closely watched by other states.
