Latest news with #CIF
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Why Trump's panic over one trans kid among 1,500 CIF track and field athletes is fake news
Fortunately, the high school transgender athlete competing in the girls' jumping events at the CIF State Track & Field Championships over the weekend in Clovis is not a javelin thrower. Had she been, Donald Trump would have spent last week alarming his followers with ghastly tales of innocent bystanders impaled by the mighty, errant javelin heaves of the teen. When Trump goes on a crusade, all truth, reason and perspective saunter out for a smoke break. When he objected to a San Jose State trans volleyball player, Trump told wild — and wildly untrue — tales of opponents suffering injuries from 80 mph spikes of said Spartan. You can't injure opponents by jumping into a sand pit or high-jumping onto a big air mattress, but from Trump's level of alarm and outrage, you might have thought that the SoCal teenager was planning to compete with a nuclear bomb strapped to her back. Trump has signed an executive order banning trans athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports. When California didn't jump to comply on something that does not, after all, have the force of law, he opened up a can of blowhard. 'Please be hereby advised,' Trump trumpeted on social media, 'that large scale Federal Funding will be held back (from California), maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to… I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State Finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' The high schooler in question did compete Friday in the preliminaries of her three jumping events, and qualified to compete in Saturday's finals. Look, this is an issue, at least insofar as people have been told that's the case by Trump and his cronies. Seven of ten American adults, according to one poll, say they are opposed to transgender athletes competing in girls' and women's sports. But had a poll been taken before Trump made this a moral crusade, 10 out of 10 adults would have had no idea that this was even a thing, let alone a national crisis. I understand the concept of a 'slippery slope,' but fears of any wholesale invasion and destruction of female sports by trans athletes seems to be not a thing that is happening or ever going to happen. The CIF serves 835,000 California high school athletes, and the CIF has long let trans girls to participate in girls' sports, since 2013 statewide, in some school districts 20 years or more. It was never a problem before Trump. There were 1,533 athletes, boys and girls, competing at the state meet in Clovis. Only one of them was a trans person competing in girls' events. The San Jose State volleyball controversy, remember, was about one athlete among tens of thousands of competitors just in her sport. On a middling team in a second-tier conference. As one of less than 10 trans athletes among more than 500,000 college student-athletes. Trump sees one tortoise creeping out onto the highway and calls it a stampede. The state track meet was such a colossal crisis that about a dozen protestors showed up outside the event. One airplane towed a banner. It was, as Trump might say, a protest like nothing we've ever seen before. It would be cool to be able to write that California and the CIF stood their moral and legal ground and told Trump to pound sand, which conveniently can be found in the jumping pits. Instead, the CIF took a stab at appeasing Trump by cobbling together a new rule. The trans girl could compete, but an extra girl would be allowed into the competition, so that no girl would be 'deprived' of a shot at glory by the lone trans competitor. Any medals or places the trans athlete earned would be shared with the competitor who finished just behind her. Never mind that this 'solution' won't work in any other sport, and that it works — sort of, awkwardly — only in the 'field' half of track & field. The effort, no doubt, was genuine. Recognize that many now see this as a problem, and seek areas of compromise. Buy time for civilized discourse and discussion. Yeah, no. The CIF and the state are dealing with a man who is open to discussion and debate, as long as it ends quickly in supplication, followed by tearful gratitude. Not that it matters. Had the CIF and the state and all those 'local authorities' yielded to Trump and kicked one trans athlete out of the state meet, another villain would have been quickly targeted. The trans athlete 'issue' was never a legitimate crisis, it was a convenient club used by a bully to beat California into submission, to further demonize the heathen state. Maybe the way out of this situation would have been for her parents to buy a couple of tickets to a million-dollars-per-plate Trumpy event. They could have raised the money through GoFundMe or whatever. Then, not only would the athlete in question have been given Trump's blessing to compete, the unprincipled prez would have commissioned a bronze of her for his planned statue garden of athletic heroes. Trump recently issued 60 pardons/commutations — not counting 1,500 or more related to the January 6 insurrection — and at least 10 of those free birds have clear financial or political connections to the Pardoner-in-Chief. Ah, but even if Trump had been briefly distracted from the high school track & field controversy, he quickly would have re-aimed his wack-a-mole club at another random California crime against humanity. The CIF's quick fix will be just that. Eventually, you either bow down in surrender, or stand up for what you believe.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trans Athlete Sparks Debate Ahead of California Finals
A TRANSGENDER high school athlete was preparing to compete at California's state championships on Friday after drawing criticism from President Donald Trump and reigniting debate about trans athletes in sport. AB Hernandez, 16, is due to compete in the long jump, triple jump and high jump during preliminary rounds of the California State Track & Field Championships in Clovis, outside of Fresno. Hernandez's participation at the meeting has been the subject of intense controversy, with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) scrambling to adjust competition rules this week as anger grew on all sides. On Tuesday, CIF officials announced that entry rules had been modified so that biological females were not excluded from competition due to the participation of trans athletes. A day later, the CIF issued another rule change -- specifically targeting events in which Hernandez is competing -- which mandates that any athlete who misses out on a podium finish behind a trans athlete would still receive a medal. 'If necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event,' the federation announced in a statement. The last-minute rules changes came after days of controversy which have included Hernandez being targeted by Trump on social media. The US President, who did not mention Hernandez by name, threatened to withhold federal funding from California in future if she was allowed to compete in this week's championships, which got under way on Friday with finals due on Saturday. 'As a female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' Trump wrote. 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' Trump's comment was followed by an announcement from the US Department of Justice that it had launched an investigation into whether California had violated Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. 'The investigation is to determine whether California, its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district are engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex,' the DOJ said in a statement. Local and state officials have also criticised Hernandez's participation, calling for the teenager to be prevented from competing. At a press conference on Thursday, Clovis mayor Diane Pearce called for CIF to block Hernandez's participation following their rule amendments earlier in the week. 'Today, I call on CIF to do the right thing. Updates one and two were not enough, but the third time can be the charm,' Pearce said. 'CIF still has a chance to make it right by removing biological males from girls' sports.'
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Transgender athlete due to compete in California athletics championships
A TRANSGENDER high school athlete was preparing to compete at California's state championships on Friday after drawing criticism from President Donald Trump and reigniting debate about trans athletes in sport. AB Hernandez, 16, is due to compete in the long jump, triple jump and high jump during preliminary rounds of the California State Track & Field Championships in Clovis, outside of Fresno. Hernandez's participation at the meeting has been the subject of intense controversy, with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) scrambling to adjust competition rules this week as anger grew on all sides. On Tuesday, CIF officials announced that entry rules had been modified so that biological females were not excluded from competition due to the participation of trans athletes. A day later, the CIF issued another rule change -- specifically targeting events in which Hernandez is competing -- which mandates that any athlete who misses out on a podium finish behind a trans athlete would still receive a medal. 'If necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event,' the federation announced in a statement. The last-minute rules changes came after days of controversy which have included Hernandez being targeted by Trump on social media. The US President, who did not mention Hernandez by name, threatened to withhold federal funding from California in future if she was allowed to compete in this week's championships, which got under way on Friday with finals due on Saturday. 'As a female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' Trump wrote. 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered is a totally ridiculous situation!!!' Trump's comment was followed by an announcement from the US Department of Justice that it had launched an investigation into whether California had violated Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. 'The investigation is to determine whether California, its senior legal, educational, and athletic organizations, and the school district are engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of sex,' the DOJ said in a statement. Local and state officials have also criticised Hernandez's participation, calling for the teenager to be prevented from competing. At a press conference on Thursday, Clovis mayor Diane Pearce called for CIF to block Hernandez's participation following their rule amendments earlier in the week. 'Today, I call on CIF to do the right thing. Updates one and two were not enough, but the third time can be the charm,' Pearce said. 'CIF still has a chance to make it right by removing biological males from girls' sports.'
North Wales Chronicle
8 hours ago
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Schools and hospitals ‘not over hurdle' of unsafe concrete, says minister
Catherine McKinnell also said ministers cannot 'fix everything overnight' when asked how much of the maintenance backlog could be eliminated or when schools would be free of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac). The Government has announced that around £1.2 billion – part of funding packages announced in last year's autumn budget – will be spent on repairing crumbling schools and hospitals across the country. Asked about Raac, school standards minister Ms McKinnell told LBC: 'We're not over that hurdle yet, and we're not over it in the NHS either.' She added that 'we have identified all the Raac' and there are plans for buildings to be fixed or rebuilt, because 'the fact that they have Raac in them means that they're probably a substantial age as a building'. More than 100 schools, nurseries and colleges across England were forced to shut down days before the autumn term in 2023 amid concerns that classrooms and other buildings containing Raac were unsafe. Asked on BBC Breakfast on Friday whether she could provide a figure for how much of the £14 billion maintenance backlog would be completed or when schools would be rid of Raac, Ms McKinnell said: 'We are working very hard, but you can't just switch a switch and fix everything overnight.' According to the Government, pupils at 656 schools and sixth forms will benefit from a share of this year's £470 million Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), used for projects such as fixing crumbling roofs and removing asbestos. More than 400 hospitals, mental health units and ambulance sites will be handed £750 million to tackle problems such as leaky pipes, poor ventilation and electrical issues. Projects to deliver improvements to schools and hospital buildings will be delivered during the 2025/26 financial year, with the first upgrades to begin this summer, the Government has said. A report by the National Audit Office in January estimated it would cost around £13.8 billion to address the repairs and remedial work backlog for hospitals and other NHS properties in England, and an additional £13.8 billion for the school estate.
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Children and patients deserve to be safe in schools and hospitals
Children and patients deserve to be safe and comfortable in schools and hospitals across England, ministers have said as the Government set out funding allocations for building repairs. Around £1.2 billion – part of funding packages announced in last year's autumn budget – will be spent on repairing crumbling schools and hospitals across the country, the Government confirmed. Pupils at 656 schools and sixth forms will benefit from a share of this year's £470 million Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), used for projects like fixing crumbling roofs and removing asbestos. More than 400 hospitals, mental health units and ambulance sites will be handed £750 million to tackle problems such as leaky pipes, poor ventilation and electrical issues. Projects to deliver improvements to schools and hospital buildings will be delivered during the 2025/26 financial year, with the first upgrades to begin this summer, the Government has said. More than 100 schools, nurseries and colleges across England were forced to shut down days before the autumn term in 2023 amid concerns that classrooms and other buildings containing reinforced autoclaved concrete (Raac) were unsafe. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'The defining image of the school estate under the previous government was children sitting under steel props to stop crumbling concrete falling on their heads. It simply isn't good enough. 'Parents expect their children to learn in a safe, warm environment. It's what children deserve and it is what we are delivering. 'This investment is about more than just buildings – it's about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this Government is determined to give them the best possible start in life.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'A decade and a half of underinvestment left hospitals crumbling, with burst pipes flooding emergency departments, faulty electrical systems shutting down operating theatres, and mothers giving birth in outdated facilities that lack basic dignity. 'We are on a mission to rebuild our NHS through investment and modernisation. 'Patients and staff deserve to be in buildings that are safe, comfortable and fit for purpose. Through our Plan for Change, we will make our NHS fit for the future.' A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) in January estimated it would cost around £13.8 billion to address the repairs and remedial work backlog for hospitals and other NHS properties in England, and an additional £13.8 billion to address the maintenance backlog across the school estate. The Department for Education has confirmed a £2.1 billion investment for the school estate for 2025/26, almost £300 million more than the previous year. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, described the funding boost for school buildings as a 'welcome start'. But he added: 'It is clear that much more Government investment and a long-term plan is needed to restore the school estate to at least a satisfactory condition.' Julia Harnden, funding specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The wider problem is that there is a massive £13.8 billion maintenance backlog across the school estate and we are still nowhere near the level of investment needed to address this. 'The fact that schools and sixth form colleges have to bid for funding for urgent repairs and maintenance is in itself a sign of the inadequacy of overall investment and is effectively an annual exercise in papering over the cracks.'
