Washington State bill would create 5 gender categories for school sports

Washington State bill would create 5 gender categories for school sports

News Story by Cassy Benefield | FāVS News

Last week, Sen. Phil Fortunato (R-Auburn) filed a bill that would upend the categories of “boys” and “girls” sports. 

Senate Bill 5012 proposes dividing 5th-12th grade school sports into these categories based on chromosomes and gender identity:

• Students with XY chromosomes who identify as male
• Students with XY chromosomes who identify as female
• Students with XX chromosomes who identify as female
• Students with XX chromosomes who identify as male
• Students who don’t fit into the above categories

“It’s simply about fairness in sports, period,” Fortunato said. “Let’s say the legislature does pass it, likelihood zero, but let’s say they do,  … and you say, ‘Hey, I’m a trans woman.’ And they (the legislature) say ‘OK, well then you compete against other trans women.’ What’s wrong with that?”

SB 5012 is exclusive and discriminatory, critics say

Chandler Wheeler (they/them), however, thinks there is a lot wrong with this bill and others like it. 

They support and advocate for LGBTQ+ youth in their role as outreach coordinator at Odyssey Youth Movement. They said SB 5012 will make trans youth feel excluded and discriminated against, which ultimately hurts all youth, including the cis gendered (those whose gender aligns with their natal sex).

“This issue is not and has never been about ‘fairness’; it’s about targeting youth with marginalized identities,” Wheeler said in an email. “Trans youth who experience exclusion and discrimination in schools and sports are more likely to experience suicide ideation, depression and generally worse mental health, and more likely to experience bullying.”

Wheeler noted an article by the Center for American Progress, in which a study found no evidence that allowing transgender athletes to compete has harmed women’s sports participation, with data showing girls’ participation has increased in states with inclusive policies. 

For example, California saw a 14% rise in girls’ sports participation after implementing inclusive policies in 2014. The research also found that transgender students in states with inclusive policies had significantly lower rates of suicidal thoughts compared to those in states without protections.

Local school boards ask for revised rules for trans youth athletes

Currently, Washington’s high school sports policy allows youth to participate on a team that matches their gender identity and has for the last 18 years.

While Fortunato’s bill aims to change that at the state level, some school district boards — including Mead and Central Valley school districts in Spokane County — are adding their voice to the conversation at a more local level.

Largely located in Northwestern and Eastern Washington, 17 school districts submitted two rule changes to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), a nonprofit association overseeing high school sports rules. One proposed amendment would prohibit males assigned at birth to compete in female sports and the other proposes to add an “open” category for trans athletes.

While the Central Valley school district did not add their name to the proposed amendments, they did send a letter to WIAA to try and open the conversation with them to find ways to make sports more equitable, especially for girls playing against trans girls.

On behalf of the Central Valley school district, Board President Stephanie Jerdon shared with FāVS in an email, they appreciate Fortunato proposing SB 5012.

“Senator Fortunato’s proposed bill is evidence that some legislators are beginning to listen to the constituents who have raised these concerns and are opening up those discussions,” Jerdan said.

In the board’s letter to WIAA, they said they wanted to provide fairness and equity for all, including “students who are transgender, non-binary, or gender fluid.” 

Supporters say differences in biological physiology matter

The equity they see needed is the acknowledgement that physiology between the sexes is different and should be accounted for in sport competitions regardless of gender identity.

“Students born male, including transgender girls or nonbinary boys, have a biological advantage over students born female,” the letter stated. “Therefore, unless a sport category is deemed co-ed, those born male should continue to be welcome to enjoy fair play within male sport categories.”

Wheeler did not agree and said it is harmful to all athletes to say that someone assigned male at birth is “biologically superior” to someone who was assigned female at birth. They also said this belief “is not and has never been backed by science.” 

The ACLU website said the same in their article debunking four myths, one of them being trans athletes have an unfair advantage, which Wheeler referred to.

“The goal of youth sports is to foster unity, connection, and peer support,” Wheeler said. “Exclusion negatively impacts all athletes by teaching trans and intersex youth that they don’t have the same rights as their peers and teaching cisgender female and AFAB (assigned female at birth) youth that they are genetically inferior to cisgender males and AMAB (assigned male at birth) individuals.”

Faith leaders join the conversation

In a November letter to the editor, local faith leaders criticized the Central Valley School District’s “Female Sports” resolution, which cited safety concerns as justification for overturning Title IX.

“The board’s plan for a ‘separate but equal’ team for transgender students is deeply flawed. With so few trans kids in the district, this proposal is impractical, deceptive and echoes segregation,” the letter read. “This resolution reflects tolerance of harm and exclusion, not fairness or safety. The board’s role is to uphold the law, maintain separation of church and state and ensure all students thrive. If they disregard Title IX, what law will they defy next?”

Has anyone asked trans youth what they think?

Wheeler hopes Fortunato and others making decisions surrounding trans youth and their inclusion and exclusion in school sports talk to them directly.

“Listen to the perspectives of trans teens,” they said. “Part of the issue with sports bans such as these is the lack for youth voice involved.” 

Critics of anti-trans bills identify bills like SB 5012 as transphobic. Fortunato said his bill does not have anything to do with “transgender at all.” And he does not think he or the bill is transphobic. 

“Phobia is something you’re afraid of, and so when they say things like homophobic, well, I mean, I’m not homophobic, but I would choose not to associate with some people that way,” Fortunato said. “You have freedom of association. So, if you choose not to participate with people that swear a lot, does that make you a swear-a-phobic?”

As one of the four members of the far-right Freedom Caucus, statements like these are not unusual from him.

Wheeler points to Merriam-Webster for a definition of transphobic as “discrimination against and/or aversion to” trans people,” in addition to fear of them.

“I would encourage the Senator to pick up a dictionary once in awhile,” they said. “And, yes, it is transphobic to exclude trans people from an activity that cis people have unconditional access to.”

SB 5012 will be officially introduced to the Senate during the 2025 legislative session next month.