New Jersey athletic association to keep policy on trans athletes
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 17: Counter-protestors gather to support transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The agency overseeing school sports in New Jersey is refusing to change its policy on trans athletes, despite executive orders from President Donald Trump banning trans athletes from competing.
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) recently reaffirmed the organisation’s policy regarding trans students competing and have confirmed there would be no immediate changes to the policy.
The policy, which was adopted in 2009 and later amended in 2017, states that “a transgender student, defined as a student whose gender identity differs from the student’s sex assigned at birth, shall be eligible to participate in accordance with either their birth sex or in accordance with their gender identity, but not both”.
It also does not allow for athletes to switch gender categories during a particular sporting season and also has a provision for schools to challenge the ability of a trans athlete to compete if there is evidence that their competitors would be adversely affected.
This has come amidst the President’s Trump executive order banning trans women and girls from competing in women’s and girl’s sports as well as threats to rescind funds from educational programmes if they fail to comply.
It is the latest in a litany of anti-trans policies invoked by the Trump administration since he took office.
Several states and universities, including Maine, California, and Minnesota, are already under investigation by the Department of Education for alleged Title IX violations relating to trans athletes competing in the sports team that aligns with their gender identity.
NJSIAA legal counsel, Steve Goodell, said that the organisation’s policy is “designed to be consistent with state law”.
Speaking at the NJSIAA executive committee meeting earlier this week, he said that any challenge on trans athletes would be “between the school, student, and state”, adding that “the NJSIAA would not get involved in that dispute”.
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