NSAA Transgender Policy explanation

From Dr. Jim Tenopir, Executive Director, Nebraska School Activities Association At the January 14th NSAA Board of Directors Meeting, the Board considered the Board policy (Approved Ruling) that was introduced on December 9 on first reading. The initial motion at the January Board Meeting was to table the Board policy until April when the outcome of the Representative Assembly would be known, but that motion failed, 3-5. A subsequent motion was made to approve the Board policy on final reading, effective immediately, and that motion passed, 6-2. If the “certificate at birth” bylaw proposal were to pass Representative Assembly, it would become the transgender rule at the start of the 2016-17 school year, and that bylaw would replace the Board policy that was approved by the NSAA Board of Directors. It is the intent of this email to provide some rationale and some logistical information going forward. The Board policy (which will be recapped below) will become effective immediately. Comments in support of the Board policy that were expressed in the Board meeting included the following: (1) the Board policy potentially provides participation opportunities for students whose consistent gender identity and expression is with the gender opposite the sex on their birth certificate; (2) the Board policy gives schools a protocol to use starting immediately and would continue if and until such time as a bylaw proposal passes Representative Assembly; (3) some of the schools with transgender students have looked for direction from the NSAA; and (4) passage of the “certificate at birth” proposal by a 3/5 vote would not be effective until August 1 and passage is not assured. The Board’s Gender Participation Policy states three primary purposes of the policy, in addition to making a participation decision. The intent of the policy is to help assure competitive equity, safety and preservation of personal privacy. The Board policy uses, as the initial determination, the sex listed on the student’s birth certificate. If a transgender student would wish to participate with the gender different than their birth certificate, the student and parent would need to request from the local school a waiver to participate. Once the school receives such request, it would be incumbent upon the schools to determine the student’s eligibility AND to determine whether that school wishes to have such transgender student participate. If the school opposes such participation, the request never gets to the NSAA; however, if the school is amenable to having the transgender student participate, the school would submit a Transgender Student Application to the NSAA, starting the NSAA protocol for consideration. The NSAA would then convene a Gender Identity Eligibility Committee comprised of a physician, psychologist or psychiatrist, an NSAA staff member and a school administrator to consider the materials submitted by the school and parent. The cost of such committee would accrue to the NSAA. Such documentation for the committee submitted by the school and parent would include verification by parents, teachers, physicians and others that the student has consistently maintained a gender identity and expression of a person opposite their birth gender. Reports of modifications such as hormone therapy, testosterone suppression treatments, sex reassignment surgery and other such modifications would also be required and considered, as well as physiological testing results. That committee would try to determine whether the transgender student possesses bone and muscle mass and structures that would be considered advantageous when competing against a student of that biological sex, before such participation was approved. If the Gender Identity Eligibility Committee unanimously approves participation by the transgender student, such student may begin immediately to participate with students of that identified gender. If the committee were to deny participation, the school could appeal the decision to another Gender Identity Eligibility Committee with a similar structure, but staffed by at least two different persons. The Board policy states that, for NSAA events, transgender students who have not had sex reassignment surgery would be able to use the restroom and dressing room facilities consonant with their birth sex or private facilities.