Washington’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal, announced that he is working with the state’s attorney general to combat President Donald Trump’s order prohibiting transgender individuals from participating in women’s sports.
“We are working closely with the Attorney General’s Office to understand the next steps for our state and for our school districts in response to this unlawful order,” Reykdal’s office said. “One thing is clear: The 47th President of the United States is disregarding the rule of law by attempting to unilaterally impose an attack on the specific student groups that anti-discrimination laws aim to protect.”
According to the superintendent’s office, Trump’s order “directly contradicts state law, including the Washington Law Against Discrimination, and our laws prohibiting discrimination in our public schools. Our state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and we will not back down from that.”
California and Minnesota are also planning to defy Trump’s order.
The California Interscholastic Federation said that it operates in compliance with state law. According to the state’s education code, students are allowed to participate in school programs that correspond with their gender identity.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that CIF will “continue to follow state law even with an executive order that directly opposes the California education code.” The matter will likely be addressed in court.
Similarly, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) said that transgender athletes’s eligibility to participate in sports is based on state law. MSHSL said, per Fox 9, that it is “subject to state anti-discrimination laws, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Therefore, students in Minnesota are allowed to participate consistent with their gender identity. League Member Schools have done excellent work in respecting students and their individual situations as they determine their participation and eligibility within interscholastic sports.”
“The League will continue to review the existing state laws alongside the new Presidential Executive Order and its timeline, processes for states, and requirements that are included,” MSHSL noted.
