Yes, Idaho already has a reasonable transgender student-athlete policy
Amid the debate over whether the Idaho government should restrict the freedom of transgender student-athletes to participate in sports is the question as to whether Idaho already has a policy.
The answer is, yes, Idaho already has a long-standing policy, and no, it has not been invoked during the policy’s existence.
Ty Jones, executive director of the Idaho High School Activities Association, said he has received just a couple of inquiries about Idaho’s policy and has fielded occasional calls about potential transgender athletes over the past five or six years, but so far, Idaho has not had an athlete use the policy.
The IHSAA, a nonprofit member organization that oversees high school athletics and activities in Idaho, has had a policy governing transgender student participation in sports for the past seven or eight years, Jones said.
According to Idaho’s policy, “A male-to-female transgender student athlete who is taking medically prescribed hormone treatment under a physician’s care for the purposes of gender transition may participate on a boys team at any time, but must complete one year of hormone treatment related to the gender transition before competing on a girls team.”
Chris Mosier, the first transgender athlete to represent the United States in international competition, the first sponsored by Nike and the first to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the gender in which he identifies, called Idaho’s policy restrictive.
“There are states like Idaho that are among the most restrictive, but trans people who jump through a lot of hoops can still participate with their peers,” Mosier said Tuesday in a visit with the Idaho Statesman editorial board. “So there’s actually not a need for the government to come through and create an even more restrictive policy.”
Jones said the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to the Idaho High School Activities Association about three years ago saying Idaho’s policy was discriminatory and needed to change.
In May 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued a letter providing details of those offices’ positions on discrimination, including gender identity.
“Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and its implementing regulations prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs and activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance,” according to the letter. “This prohibition encompasses discrimination based on a student’s gender identity, including discrimination based on a student’s transgender status.”
When IHSAA received the letter, legal counsel said to hold off, Jones said, pending who won the presidential election. Republican Donald Trump was elected, and “that letter went away,” Jones said.
In February 2017, the departments of Justice and Education issued a new letter officially withdrawing the previous statements and policy guidance on transgender students, citing, in part, “a federal district court in Texas held that the term ‘sex’ unambiguously refers to biological sex.”
“In addition,” the letter states, “the Departments believe that, in this context, there must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local school districts in establishing educational policy.”
So, yes, it’s true, Idaho has a policy in place if the need arises. It also seems to be a fair compromise, as it is perceived as restrictive to some yet still provides the opportunity for transgender athletes to participate without government overreach.
