The board of education in Alaska voted late last week to approve a proposal barring trans-identifying males from competing on girls’ high school sports teams.
The proposal states that “if a separate high school athletics team is established for female students, participation shall be limited to females who were assigned females at birth.” If Republican Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor gives the proposal final approval, it would apply to school districts that join the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA), which regulates high school sports in the state, the Hill reported.
Current ASAA guidelines allow each member school to decide if boys who identify as girls are allowed to compete on girls’ sports teams.
“However, if a school determines that a transgender student is eligible to compete, that determination ‘shall remain in effect for the duration of the student’s high school eligibility,’” according to the report. “Transgender students attending member schools that do not have written policies in place ‘may only participate based upon [their] gender assigned at birth,’ according to ASAA guidelines.”
The proposal was first put forth in June by members of the state’s education board. It comes after a similar bill introduced by Republicans in the state legislature this session failed to advance out of committee. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy also introduced a bill that would have protected girls’ restrooms and locker rooms from boys who identify as girls.
So far, 23 states have passed laws protecting female sports teams, although court orders are temporarily blocking laws passed in Arizona, Idaho, West Virginia, and Utah, according to the report.
