Washington state high schools forced to allow men to play women’s sports after legal threats from Democrat leaders

Washington state law currently requires educational agencies to allow students to participate in interscholastic sports "that most closely aligns with their gender identity.” The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) previously announced that it had proposed two bylaw amendments that would limit participants in girls’ sports to students who were born as females and prevent students who were born male and now identify as female from competing in girls' sports following multiple headline-grabbing victories by boys in Washington competing in girls' events.

One of the amendments would have created a girls’ division and an "open division." In the “open division,” all students could participate, regardless of whether their gender identity matched the sex they were born as, while the other amendment proposed the creation of a boys division, a girls division, and an "open division."

On Tuesday, WIAA commutations director Sean Bessette said in a statement to The Seattle Times that he had been told by the state’s Attorney General Nick Brown and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, both Democrats, as well as the state’s Office for Civil Rights, that the proposals would violate state law.

Bessette told the outlet, "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. 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." He added, "If state law were to change, the WIAA’s Executive Board has the authority and would need to alter the Association’s rules accordingly."

In May, a biological male won the state girls' 400-meter race by over a full second, leading the East Valley girls' track team from Spokane to a state championship. The following month, the losing team’s coach spoke out against state rules that allow biological males to compete in female-designated sports, telling the Independent Women’s Forum that his team would have won the state championship if it were not for the inclusion of male athletes.

Last month, Reykdal, who has presided over a disastrous decline in Washington academics where it was recently revealed that 71 percent of the State’s eighth graders aren’t proficient in math and 69 percent aren’t proficient in reading despite record spending, threatened to withhold funds from the La Center School District that refused to hide students’ gender identities from parents. He claimed that the decision to inform parents of how a student identifies in school discriminates against students and families regarding gender inclusivity and rights of queer and transgender students.

In February, Reykdal claimed in an interview, “It is quite simply inaccurate to say biologically that there are only boys and only girls," in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order that there are only two genders. He added, "DEI is not a harmful thing, it's a good thing," in response to Trump’s executive order banning it.

The day after Trump signed the Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports order, Reykdal issued a statement claiming that the executive order “directly contradicts state law” and “requires educational institutions to agree to discriminate against trans female athletes in order to continue receiving federal funds.” Reykdal continued, “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,” adding, "Our state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and we will not back down from that."

He pledged, “Washington state will do everything in our power to defend the rule of law, states' rights to establish education policy, and to protect the beautiful diversity of our 1.1 million students and educators. We believe in inclusion over discrimination and love over hate.”

Brown is joining other Democratic-controlled states in challenging many of Trump’s executive orders in court.