Tipsheet

Did Washington State Come Up With a Solution for Transgender Athletes?

This week, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) proposed creating a separate division for transgender athletes to prevent them from competing against females.

The WIAA is the governing body for high school sports in Washington state. Currently, transgender athletes can compete based on their gender identity instead of the biological sex. This means that men who believe they are women can compete in women’s sports. 

In the proposed amendments posted this week, one states “Participation in girls’ sports would be limited to students assigned female at birth” and another states “Athletic programs would be offered separately for boys, girls and transgender students.”

The WIAA Representative Assembly will vote on the proposed amendments from April 9-18, 2025.

Many of these proposed amendments came from school districts across the state, KREM2 reported.

Reportedly, a transgender athlete won a state title in a race against women last year.

One school district in the state passed their own resolution in October to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. 

According to the Movement Advancement Project, half of the United States has laws on the books banning so-called “transgender athletes” from competing on teams consistent with their gender identity.