alaska state board of education A resolution was unanimously approved Thursday urging the state to allow only biological girls to participate in girls’ sports — recommending a separate league for athletes who do not identify with their birth gender. We do.
The proposal, which was added to the board’s agenda at the last minute, recommends creating a separate division of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. All the eight members supported it while the student advisor remained absent.
A copy of resolution Received by the Anchorage Daily News where board members recognized “the integrity of middle and high school girls sports must be protected”.
“We’re making a statement to keep the girls’ game safe and competitive and fair,” board president James Fields told the Daily News via The Associated Press.
Alaska State Capitol Building, Juneau, interior legislature room. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Billy Strickland, director of the Alaska School Activities Association, said the proposal is similar to one proposed in previous discussions by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration.
Strickland said they wanted to create three divisions – Boys, Girls and a Co-Ed Division That would allow transgender athletes — but he said there aren’t enough transgender athletes in Alaska to accommodate a third division. He also said that he knew of only one in the nine years he led the ASAA.
A statement provided to the AP Friday from Dunleavy’s office emphasized that girls must play against other girls to play in single-sex leagues.
“If a person who was born as a male but feels excluded from playing sports in a league with boys simply because of their gender identity, the solution is not to allow them to compete against girls, but to compete as co-players.” -is to enhance educational opportunities,” the statement said. “The time has come to seriously consider co-ed interscholastic sports so that all students can compete at their highest level.”
Protesters listen to a speech during the “Our Bodies, Our Sports” rally for the 50th anniversary of Title IX at Freedom Plaza on June 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Strickland said school boards and districts set their own policies, and the Matanuska-Sasitna Borough School Board is the only group in Alaska to limit the participation of trans athletes at this time. Most others have not addressed the issue, although girls are allowed to play alongside boys on some football and hockey teams.
senate education committee Chair Sen. Loki Tobin of Anchorage, a Democrat, expressed concern that the board violated its requirement to allow the public to weigh in on proposals before voting, the AP reported.
They also had concerns that the proposal might violate the right-to-privacy clause of the state constitution.
“I’m concerned primarily because I’m the chairman of the State Policy Committee for Education in the Senate,” Tobin said. “I am concerned that process was not followed, and we were not able to provide our public comments on this issue.”
The AP said the legislature has the ability to veto proposed regulations for any state department.
Michael Dunleavy, Governor of Alaska, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday, February 25, 2022 in Orlando, Florida, US. (Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Earlier in March, the governor proposed a bill to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms according to their biological sex. The bill would also require parental approval if students want their name or pronouns to be used in school. MPs have not yet voted on the bill.
Another bill creating a co-ed sports division separate from the boys’ and girls’ leagues hasn’t even been heard.
Alaska State Senate has said it will stay away from divisive issues this session, including any legislation related to LGBTQ+ people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.