Trans-Student Athletes

Which states have the best policies for transgender student athletes?

Changing Sex, and Changing Teams
New York Times
By IAN LOVETT
Published: May 6, 2013

Over the last decade, the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association have adopted regulations for athletes who were born male but now consider themselves females and want to play on women’s teams.

And now, high schools are beginning to take on the issue as well, as a small but growing number students who identify themselves as transgender have begun demanding access to the same school activities, like interscholastic sports, that other students enjoy.

More than half a dozen states, from Washington to Massachusetts, have adopted rules to allow transgender students to compete on teams that correspond with their gender identities rather than the sex listed on their school records. Half a dozen more states are considering similar regulations. And a bill in the Legislature would make California the first to specifically guarantee by law that transgender students like Tony are allowed to play school sports.
[…]
The International Olympic Committee initially required transgender athletes who want to compete in the Olympics to undergo a full sex-change operation and hormone therapy. The National Collegiate Athletic Association requires male-to-female transgender athletes to complete a year of hormone therapy before they may compete on a women’s team.

Regulations for transgender high schoolers are far less stringent. No state requires students to undergo surgery or hormone therapy before they are allowed to compete. In some states, including California, where the state interscholastic federation adopted a new policy about transgender students in February, students (or their parents) need only submit a letter to the school asserting their gender identity and the case will be reviewed.

So what is Connecticut policy on trans-student athletes?

Well, according to the CHRO and the Safe School Coalition guidelines…

Question: What sports and gym classes should students be in?
Answer: Transgender students should be permitted to participate in sex - segregated athletic activities based on their gender identity. Denying students such an opportunity is likely to result in their inability to participate in sports and gym programs altogether and risks exposing the school to liability under the law. Schools are reminded that physical education programs including gym classes and school teams are educational opportunities and critical to developing optimal student health, self-esteem and well-being. To the extent that they are also competitive activities, students enjoy a range of athletic benefits based on their individual attributes (height, speed, agility, etc.). There is no educationally sound or principled justification for denying transgender students athletic opportunities and no empirical reason to believe transgender students have any particular athletic advantage because of their ability to participate based on their gender identity rather than on their assigned birth sex.

The law is quite clear; we have to be on the team of our gender identity.

The map on Deadspin has which states have the best policies for trans-student athletes…