Alaskans have another chance to speak up in defending girls from being forced to compete against biological males in high school sports.

Last month, the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA), which oversees high school athletic competitions in Alaska, refused to bar gender-confused biological males from competing in girls’ sports unless compelled to do so by the state.

Now the Alaska State Board of Education has an opportunity to specifically direct ASAA to implement regulations that prohibit gender-confused males from participating in female-only competitions.

The education board meets in Soldotna this week where it will first hear from the public before taking up this issue on June 8.

Alaska Family Council, a pro-life and family advocacy group, is organizing a rally that day at the Kenai Peninsula Borough Chambers (144 N. Binkley Street), where the board of education will deliberate. Advocates for girls’ sports will gather at 7:45 a.m. to hold signs with the aim of showing the education board that there is strong public support to bar biological males from female competitions. For more information about the rally, click here.

While advocates for girls’ sports were hopeful the ASAA board of directors would change its bylaws during a May 1-2 meeting with a simple majority vote, the board declined to take any action, and maintained the status quo, which relies on each individual school making a “gender determination” regarding a student’s sex. ASAA then accepts whatever each school determines, which means gender-confused biological males who claim to be female sometimes compete against girls. Anchorage and Fairbanks are the two largest districts that allow for this, while the Mat-Su expressly prohibits biological males from competing on all-girls teams.

After refusing to adopt a proposed bylaw change – which the State Board of Education specifically requested – the ASAA board released a statement, explaining that if the state education department wants new protocols for how high school athletics are run, it should take the lead and address the issue by changing state regulations governing high school sports.

Since ASAA is a nonprofit that must organize and oversee Alaska’s school athletic competitions in accord with state laws and regulations, it would have to comply with any new state regulations.

TAKING ACTION

— The Board of Education will begin its meeting at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 8. Public Comment at the meeting is limited to three minutes per person and five minutes per group.

— Those who cannot attend the meeting or livestream can still submit a written comments about the proposed regulation changes to all board members by emailing deed.commissioner@alaska.gov.

— Click here to email individual board members.

— Public comment can be made in person or by joining the online Zoom meeting at https://zoom.us/j/99391482721 or by calling 1-253-215-8782 (toll free) and selecting *9 on your phone’s keypad (Meeting ID 993 9148 2721). If there is more than two hours of public comment, the board can extend the hearing to accommodate those present before 8:30 a.m. who did not have an opportunity to speak.

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