Newhouse promises support for Tri-Cities school board fighting WA's transgender laws
A Tri-Cities school board's challenge to Washington state's laws allowing transgender students in sports and locker rooms is now being backed by a member of Congress.
Central Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse said in a Wednesday social media post that he had met with Kennewick School Board member Josh Miller to hear about their Title IX complaint against the state, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Superintendent Chris Reykdal.
'I informed them I am currently working with the White House and Department of Justice to open a federal investigation into this unacceptable standard that continues to threaten the safety of young female athletes in Central Washington,' Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, posted on Twitter/X.
His support is the most prominent the school board has received since filing the complaint on March 27.
The meeting also comes as Newhouse receives criticism for not holding a district town hall to discuss DOGE cuts affecting federal workers and programs.
The board believes the state's policies 'directly harm' young women, and that they jeopardize the district's federal resources by being at odds with President Donald Trump's executive actions opposing 'male competitive participation in women's sports.'
The threat to school funding is tangible as discussions around gender and Title IX interpretations erupt nationwide.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture froze some school funds to Maine public schools over its refusal to ban trans girls from sports, according to a Reuters report.
But gender expression and identity are protected classes under Washington state law, meaning schools cannot discriminate against students.
OSPI says all public school students have the right to be treated in ways that align with their gender identity. That means students can engage with or use whichever restroom, locker room, pronouns, dress code or athletics programs aligns with their expression.
Kennewick's complaint highlights the case of a transgender teen from East Valley High School in Spokane who won the 2024 girls state 400-meter dash, resulting in the team winning the girls 2A track title.
For the past two decades, the state's premier organizer of high school sports, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, has prohibited the discrimination of student-athletes based on their preferred identity, allow trans students to compete.
Reykdal said there are about five to ten student athletes across Washington state who are transgender, a portion of about 0.004% of the quarter-million student athletes, per FOX 13.
But the Kennewick board argues it is 'demeaning, unfair and dangerous' to girls sports, and denies young women the 'equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.'
'(OSPI) has mandated that the Kennewick School District revise its gender-inclusive schools policy and procedures to conform to statewide model policy that directly violates Title IX,' the board writes in its complaint, noting a compliance deadline of May 23.
'In doing so, Washington state and the state superintendent, Chris Reykdal, have blatantly disregarded directives of the United States Department of Education, and the lawful executive orders issued by our current president, creating discriminatory and unsafe environments detrimental to our children and particularly damaging to our girls and young women,' it continued.
Of the Kennewick School District's $322 million annual budget, about 10% comes from federal funds while nearly 50% comes from OSPI through student apportionment.
Since last week, school board leaders have been on a media blitz to discuss their fight against Washington's policies.
On Monday, board President Gabe Galbraith and Vice President Micah Valentine appeared on Fox News' program 'Fox & Friends First' to make their plea for federal intervention.
Galbraith also called into 770 KTTH's 'The Jason Rantz Show' in Seattle this week.
He said they feel they have the federal law on their side, which is why the board is pushing for Trump's interpretation of Title IX. But if the outcome of their complaint favors state law, Galbraith said they would abide by Reykdal.
'Whichever one comes out on top as the rule of the land, then that's what we would ultimately obviously need to follow so that we're not breaking any laws,' he told Rantz.
Galbraith says it's a '90-10 issue' in Kennewick, and there has been 'no issues' with administrators or teachers support.
'Ultimately, it's been positive and the community's behind us,' he said.
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