Monroe policy renews debate about trans student athletes
Andrew Shaw is superintendent of Monroe Public Schools. Credit: Monroe Public Schools.
by Katee Tompkins, Capital News Service
LANSING – A recent decision by the Monroe Public Schools Board of Education to restrict participation in girls’ sports based on sex assigned at birth has renewed discussion about how Michigan schools handle transgender athletes and the legal questions surrounding their policies.
Superintendent Andrew Shaw said in a statement, “The policy that was approved is for Monroe Public Schools only and does not impact any visiting school.”
The decision comes as school officials statewide and nationally continue to navigate questions surrounding transgender student participation in athletics.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), which governs interscholastic sports for member schools, currently reviews eligibility for transgender girls on a case-by-case basis. According to its handbook, eligibility decisions may consider school records, medical documentation and other information related to a student’s gender identity and transition.
While Monroe’s new policy bases participation in girls’ sports on sex assigned at birth, the association’s current policy evaluates transgender athletes individually rather than imposing a blanket restriction.
The MHSAA policy does not prohibit girls from participating on boys’ teams. Therefore, it does not participate in matters involving transgender boy (female to male) student-athletes on boys’ teams.
Transgender girls (male to female) seeking to participate in state tournament competitions are subject to an eligibility review by the association’s executive director.
Association officials say its policies are designed to comply with state and federal law.
“For many years, (MHSAA) policy in this area has been crafted to be fully compliant with federal and state law,” said Geoff Kimmerly, its communications director “We believe the claims made are legally unsound, and we will defend that position through the legal process.”
Kimmerly declined further comment, citing an ongoing federal lawsuit against Monroe Public Schools, its athletic director and its superintendent over the circumstances of, and in response to, a transgender athlete playing on a visiting volleyball team.
The debate extends beyond Michigan. According to a recent Washington Post report, voters in Washington, Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona and Missouri will decide ballot measures related to transgender youth rights on Election Day, including proposals involving school sports participation and gender-affirming care.
The measures mark the first general election in which voters in multiple states are being asked directly to weigh in on policies affecting transgender youth.
More than two dozen Republican-led states, including neighboring Indiana and Ohio, have adopted bans on transgender girls participating in girls’ sports. Those laws were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
The issue also intersects with Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
That law prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and marital status in places of public accommodation and public services.
Under the law, individuals may not be denied the full and equal enjoyment of services or facilities because of their gender identity or expression.
Jay Kaplan, an attorney with the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBTQ+ Project, said policies restricting participation based on sex assigned at birth conflict with those protections.
“Our state civil rights law explicitly covers gender identity and gender expression,” Kaplan said. “You can’t discriminate in terms of providing the same opportunities and ability to participate in educational programs.”
Kaplan said transgender students often participate in athletics for the same reasons as other students.
“They want to be part of a team. They want to participate in competition with their team. They want to expand their skills,” he said.
Kaplan also noted that the MHSSA already evaluates transgender girls seeking to compete in girls’ sports through an individualized waiver process.
“They do an individualized assessment of that student to look at the potential issue of competitive advantage before granting a waiver,” he said.
Kaplan said policies like Monroe’s could have broader effects on transgender students beyond athletics.
“It sends a message that they’re less than, that they’re other, that they’re not entitled to the same rights and opportunities,” Kaplan said.
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