Washington athletics org's proposals to change trans-athlete policy would violate state law, official says
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA)'s Representative Assembly proposed two amendments to its policies that would keep girls' sports to biological females only and potentially offer an open division if student-athletes were interested.
However, WIAA commutations director Sean Bessette said in a statement to The Seattle Times on Tuesday that the proposals would violate state law.
"The WIAA has been told by the Attorney General's office, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction that proposed amendments ML/HS #7 and ML/HS #8 would be a violation under current Washington state law, affirming our attorney's legal review," Bessette told the paper. "The WIAA remains committed to following state law, and those amendments focused on gender-identity participation would not be implemented on August 1 if they were to pass under current state law.
"If state law were to change, the WIAA's Executive Board has the authority and would need to alter the Association's rules accordingly."
The proposals will be voted on by the 53-person representative assembly but no changes will be made to the rules. The proposals titled ML/HS #7 and ML/HS #8 are strictly advisory votes only.
"Amendment would not be implemented under current State Law. Participation in girls' sports would be limited to biological females," the ML/HS #7 proposal read on the athletics organization's website.
"Amendment would not be implemented under current State Law. Athletic programs would be offered separately for boys, girls, and an open division for all students interested," ML/HS #8 read.
Washington state law requires local educational agencies to allow transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports "that most closely aligns with their gender identity," according to the WIAA.
The Kennewick School Board filed a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights against Washington state's Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal this week. The complaint included a plea for "urgent" federal intervention against the state's ongoing policies that defy Trump's order.
Reykdal previously claimed it was "inaccurate" to say there are only two genders during a video address in late February.
"It is quite simply inaccurate to say, biologically, that there are only boys and there are only girls," Reykdal said. "There's a continuum. There's a science to this. There are children who are born intersex. There are children whose hormones and whose chromosomes are not consistent with their sex at birth.
"Our state laws make clear that children get to identify and participate based on the gender in which they identify. We're going to uphold that law."
Reykdal also insisted in that address that Trump does not have the authority as president to issue a ban on trans athletes in girls' sports but conceded the U.S. Congress does.
Another school district in Washington opted to take matters into its own hands and defy the state government in late February.
The Tumwater School District's board of directors voted 3-1 Feb. 27 to ban trans athletes from playing for girls sports teams after a nationally publicized controversy involving one of its school's girls basketball teams.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
US-Russian ballerina reflects on release from Russian penal colony
Former ballerina Ksenia Karelina, whom Russia sentenced to 12 years on a penal colony over a treason conviction, tells 'My View' her experience and what it was like to meet President Donald Trump.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eleven more die from malnutrition in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says
A further 11 deaths resulting from malnutrition have been reported in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. That brings the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 212, including 98 children. At least 38 people have also been killed and 491 injured as a result of Israeli military activity over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said. Deaths continue to rise amid reports that a deadline of 7 October 2025 has been set for residents to evacuate Gaza City following the announcement of a controversial Israeli plan to take control of the area. The new plan, approved by the Israeli security cabinet and detailed on Friday, lists five "principles" for ending the war in Gaza, with one being "taking security control of the territory". Reports in Israeli media say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, relocating its estimated one million residents further south. The plan has been met with criticism from world leaders as well as fierce opposition from some within Israel, including from military officials and the families of hostages still being held in Gaza who fear for their safety. Israel has rejected criticism, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying condemnation would "not weaken our resolve". The US has been less critical - with Donald Trump saying earlier in the week that it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy the Gaza Strip. What we know about Israel's plan to take over Gaza City Watch: What Israel's Gaza City takeover plan could mean for Palestinians Israel rejects international criticism of Gaza City takeover plan Israeli media reports that the government has set a two-month deadline before a military siege of Gaza City to begin on 7 October 2025, the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the war. Within those two months, Israel plans to forcibly displace the estimated one million Palestinians living in Gaza City, roughly half the number of people living in the entirety of the territory. Gaza City is the capital of the Gaza Strip. Its pre-war population was estimated at around 600,000 people, but that number has grown significantly throughout the war as Israel's military campaign has pushed Palestinians into the city. Many living there now have already been displaced multiple times through the war and are living in tents or the ruins of buildings that have been partially destroyed by Israeli air strikes. Israeli media reports that the military would move the population towards al-Mawasi, a vast tent encampment in the south of Gaza, already home to thousands of Palestinians suffering from an absence of basic facilities and sanitation. The plan is being widely condemned by humanitarian agencies and indeed many of Israel's allies for its potential to add untold human suffering onto the shoulders of an already exhausted and beleaguered people. The move to take control of Gaza City will further complicate Palestinians' ability to meet their basic needs for survival. Famine is already playing out throughout the Gaza Strip, with a UN-backed global food security experts saying the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out". The UN's humanitarian agency said on Friday that the amount of aid entering Gaza continues to be "far below the minimum required to meet people's immense needs". Israel has denied there is starvation in Gaza and accused UN agencies of not picking up aid at the borders and delivering it. The UN's humanitarian agency said it continues to see impediments and delays as it tries to collect aid from Israeli-controlled border zones. Challenges in distributing aid persist as deaths of people trying to get food continue to be reported. Gaza's health ministry said on Saturday that 21 people had been killed trying to get aid in the last 24 hours. The UN reported earlier this month that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May, when a new US and Israeli-backed organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) set up aid distribution sites. The UN said most were killed by the Israeli military, with 859 killed near GHF sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys. The GHF denies the UN's figure. Israel has accused Hamas of instigating chaos near the aid centres and says its forces do not intentionally open fire on civilians. Israel does not allow the BBC and other news organisations to report independently from Gaza, making it difficult to verify. In its announcement of the plan to conquer Gaza City, Israel's prime minister's office said it will provide "humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones", but did not provide further information of what that might entail. Like previous forced displacements throughout the war, the expulsion of Palestinians will likely see chaotic and dangerous scenes of families travelling by foot, by cart or by overloaded vehicles. It has been reported that after the deadline of 7 October 2025, Israel's military will lay siege to Gaza City and escalate its attacks. Hamas has promised to fiercely resist Israel's attempt to conquer the city. We may also see similar scenes to what the military has done in Rafah, in Gaza's south, and in northern towns, which were forcibly evacuated before being almost totally levelled in a systematic method. If there are Hamas fighters holding Israeli hostages in Gaza City, then this period would prove the most deadly. It is understood that Hamas has given orders to captors to kill hostages should Israeli military troops approach close to hiding locations. An estimated 20 Israeli hostages remain alive in Gaza, some of whom are believed to be held around Gaza City. Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Since then, more than 61,300 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations. Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained Israel's Gaza City plan means more misery for Palestinians and big risk for Netanyahu
CNN
40 minutes ago
- CNN
White House hasn't ruled out Zelensky being in Alaska during Trump-Putin meeting on Friday
A diplomatic scramble unfolded Saturday after President Donald Trump announced he would meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, next week in Alaska, as European leaders rushed to understand the terms of the meeting and ensure Ukraine was not being left out of discussions about its future. In the English countryside Saturday, European officials presented their case to Vice President JD Vance in a hastily arranged meeting. The leaders of several European nations said afterward that while they supported Trump's diplomatic efforts, any peace talks must be preceded by a ceasefire and Ukraine itself must be actively involved. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not named as a participant in the Alaska summit, to take place Friday between Trump and Putin. However, the White House has not completely ruled out including Zelensky in some meetings, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. One White House official stressed that anything involving Zelensky would likely happen after the Trump-Putin meeting. The summit has come together very quickly, and details are still in flux. An exact location has yet to be announced. A White House official said Trump remained 'open to a trilateral summit with both leaders' but that 'the White House is planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.' Since Trump unveiled plans to meet with Putin in a post to social media Friday, there has been an intensive diplomatic effort behind the scenes to get US allies on board. Trump's announcement notably did not say whether or when Zelensky would be included in the process. Zelensky and European leaders, meanwhile, have been emphatic that Ukraine needs to be part of any discussions about ending the war. In the Saturday meeting hosted by Vance at the manor home of the British foreign secretary, European officials laid out their terms and sought more information from US officials about the plan Putin presented Wednesday to US envoy Steve Witkoff. They emphasized a number of points, Western officials said: that Ukraine must be involved in the talks, that a ceasefire is in place before other steps are taken, and that if Ukraine makes territorial concessions, Russia must also concede land it currently occupies. A statement afterward from the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Finland said the group welcomed 'President Trump's work to stop the killing in Ukraine, end the Russian Federation's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine.' But it spelled out terms of a peace plan that appeared to differ from the one Putin has put forward, in which he is seeking significant territorial concessions, according to Western officials. 'Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,' the joint statement read. 'We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.' The statement also said any diplomatic agreement to end the war must include 'robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.' The terms amounted to an attempt by European leaders to scramble a response to the rapidly unfolding diplomacy, which was set in motion this week with Witkoff's meeting in Moscow. Pressed by reporters for details on the contours of a deal, Trump indicated Friday that it could include 'some swapping of territories.' The way the Europeans understand it, Putin presented a proposal that would require Ukraine to give over the entire eastern Donbas region, which Russia partially occupies. But the exact contours of the plan remained somewhat unclear, even after several follow-up phone conversations between the Europeans and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Witkoff. The fate of the two other regions that have been in Moscow's sights — Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia only partially occupies — wasn't clear. Nor was the status of US security guarantees going forward, the officials said. That has left European leaders, who have expressed concern about the possibility of Ukraine ceding territory, rushing to get more details on what a ceasefire would entail. To allay some of those concerns, Vance convened the hourslong meeting Saturday with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and European and Ukrainian officials to lay out the US' view of negotiations, as well as American officials' understanding of Russia's stance. Witkoff attended the meeting virtually. A US official told CNN that 'significant progress' was made, but it is still unclear whether there is European or Ukrainian buy-in heading into Friday's critical meeting. After Saturday's meeting, Zelensky said he believed the US was listening. 'Our arguments are being heard. The dangers are being taken into account,' he said in an address.
