The Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development passed a resolution unanimously on Thursday to protect girls in sports.
The resolution says the separation of males and females in sports is related to competitive fairness and promotion of broad and equal participation opportunities. The two-page resolution also says the gender policies in Alaska school athletics programs should be objective, workable, and practicable for all students who participate.
“Whereas, at puberty biological male athletes generally gain physiological advantages such as larger skeletal structure, greater muscle mass and strength, less body fat, greater bone density, larger hearts and greater oxygen-carrying capacity,” the resolution notes in its preamble. It also says “medically prescribed hormone treatment for the purpose of gender transition is not a best practice recommendation for children under the age of 16.”
“Whereas, the integrity of high school girls’ sports should be preserved,” the board said.
The resolution also says that transgenders should be able to play in school sports, but girls must be treated fairly, too.
The board was addressing the rise of male students who choose female identities and compete against biological females in sports, a rising trend around the country and Alaska. Board member Lorri Van Diest brought the resolution forward for a vote.
The board says it supports the passage of regulations that provide girls’ divisions with participation based on a student’s sex at birth, and a division for students who identify with either sex or gender, which is sometimes called a co-ed division. The regulations should provide for an appeal process for all students, the resolution says.
The resolution was to be sent to all Alaska School Athletic Association board members, as well as House and Senate legislators. It does not have the force of law but had unanimous support from the board for a policy favored by the governor and similar to the one offered as legislation in 2022 by Sen. Shelley Hughes.
In other states, bills are being passed to protect girl athletes in schools, but Hughes could not get the liberal majority in the Senate to support her bill last year. This year, the liberal majority has left her out of its roster entirely, making it unlikely that she can get another bill through to protect girl athletes.
