Minnesota considers transgender high school sports

Across the country, transgender policies are invading public and private school gyms. In at least eight states, including California, Nebraska, and Massachusetts, high school boys identifying as girls, or girls as boys, can play on teams with the gender of their choice. Now, the Minnesota State High School League is pushing its state to be the ninth. A vote on Dec. 4 will decide the question.

The policy has been revised three times so far, and heated exchanges in the November meeting delayed the vote. Private schools have asked for exemptions, but private meetings of council members have kept critics’ voices out of redrafts.

The proposed league policy would have schools determining whether a student is transgender with only a doctor’s note backing the decision. Competitive school districts could exploit the policy. Minnesota Catholic Coalition President Jason Adkins, in an open letter to the league, wrote, “Allowing boys to play as girls seems to jeopardize the competitive playing field for women.”

Other critics cite the problem of teenage boys and girls sharing locker rooms. “Any intelligent person, putting political correctness aside, can logically think what that will mean,” said Michele Lentz, Minnesota coordinator for the Child Protection League. Professional sports require transgender athletes to have hormone-blocking therapy, but many states don’t want chemical treatment for students. Hormone therapy may be irreversible for teens, which is a concern given that a 2008 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry showed most transgender students resolve their confusion following adolescence.