Another Placer County school district passes resolution supporting Title IX
The Western Placer County School District on Tuesday passed a resolution supporting Title IX and what they call fairness in girls' sports. It's just the latest district in Placer County to do so.
Title IX prevents sex-based discrimination in schools and prevents the exclusion of gender groups from classes and extracurricular programs like sports.
Critics argue the language of "fairness in girls' sports" comes at the expense of transgender students.
In the past few weeks, the Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District and Placer Union High School District both approved resolutions backing Title IX, specifically expressing concern about transgender girls competing against cisgender girls in sports.
Carolyn Brown is a public school advocate and former teacher. While she supports the principles of Title IX, she believes the sentiment behind the resolution is exclusionary and harmful to transgender students.
"Many of our school boards and our school board members have lost sight of the actual responsibilities and duties they have when they ran and were elected to a school board, and instead, they are using that platform to push political agendas," Brown said.
Title IX has been put back in the spotlight after a transgender teen from Southern California recently competed in the California Interscholastic Federation track and field finals, drawing national attention and also criticism from President Trump.
Sophia Lorey is a former collegiate athlete and now an advocate for California Family Council, which supports separating sports based on biological sex rather than gender identity.
"We are going to watch girls lose first, second and third place spots," Lorey said. "We are going to watch girls be put at risk and watch girls have males in their locker rooms. So all of this affects the girls."
Brown was at the Placer Union board meeting when that resolution was passed. She said it was "heartbreaking" to hear from board members who supported the resolution. She said that all students should feel safe, respected and valued.
"Many of our school boards and our school board members have lost sight of the actual responsibilities and duties they have when they ran and were elected to a school board and instead they are using that platform to push political agendas," Brown said.
