On Aug. 31, the Alaska State Board of Education passed a new policy aimed at protecting the integrity and safety of girls’ high school sports. In a 7-0 vote the board adopted a new rule that bars gender-confused biological males from competing against females.

In the lead up to the vote, the board received thousands of letters and heard hours of public testimony for and against the proposal. It is now up to the Alaska Schools Activities Association to implement the changes for competitions across the state.

Alaska’s new policy follows on the heels of many other states that have also moved to protect women’s sports from biological males. To date, nearly half of all U.S. states have similar policies in place.

These changes have come in part due to multiple instances in which biological males have shattered female records on the way to championships and titles that have squeezed out top female athletes in recent years.

Advocates for girls sports point out that no amount of cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers can level the playing field between biological males and females.

An expert report by Dr. Gregory A. Brown, an exercise science professor at the University of Nebraska notes that males have physical advantages over females—from greater height and weight and larger, longer, and stronger bones to larger muscles and higher rates of metabolizing and releasing energy.

But hard-left activist groups like Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and LGBTQ organizations are fighting policies that protect girls sports.

Several federal cases are making their way through the courts, and the issue may eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

For now, it will be up to the ASAA board to act on the education board’s new policy and implement updated regulations governing Alaska high school sports. The first opportunity will be at the ASAA board’s next meeting scheduled for Oct. 8-10 in Anchorage.

The education board’s vote does not ban athletes who claim to be transgender from competing in sports, it only requires that males participate against those of the same biological sex. Girls are permitted to play in males sports if they try out for and successfully make it onto a boys team.

The new policy brings a level of continuity to Alaska high school sports. Before the change, it was up to each school district to determine whether transgender identifying athletes could play on girls’ teams. This created disparity for districts like the Mat-Su, which adopted a ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports earlier this year.

TAKING ACTION

— Click here to contact the Alaska School Activities Association board prior to its Oct. 8-10 meeting.

— Click here for information on how to participate in the next ASAA meeting.

Click here to support Alaska Watchman reporting.