The Alaska Board of Education and Early Development was able to hear nearly three hours of testimony from the public Wednesday on the regulationthat will prohibit transgender girls from playing on high school girls’ sports teams. Nearly two-thirds of the testimony was in opposition to the law.
The board didn’t decide to act on the suggestion and put the matter on hold to be discussed at a future meeting. The Chair of the Board James Fields said another meeting is needed to address any other questions.
“Trying to provide a high-quality education for every student each day, when there’s an issue between the two trying to find the right needle isn’t an easy task,” Fields said. “So I believe we’re at the point that we have to allow a amount of time.”
Prior to it was time to meet, board members was presented with more than 1.400 pages of public testimony.
Kuba Grzeda coach and runner. the high school team and also college students in Fairbanks. The board was informed that he is against the rule.
“When trans children are required to participate in sports that aren’t in line with their sexuality, it can be a ought to be a positive experience may create feelings of isolation and a sense of exclusion that can result in depression and anxiety along with other health problems,” Grzeda said. “I’ve observed a lot speculation and scenarios of what-ifs, but there hasn’t been any evidence of transgender athletes winning any sport all over the world.”
Malinda Linstid of Juneau said she supported the idea and would be in favor of creating a third class that includes transgender and gender non-conforming athletes, instead of permitting them to compete against girls or boys.
“There are many reasons that the gender-based divisions of males and females were first created, mostly the safety aspect and fairness of it,” Linstid said. “We want to be able to enjoy an equal playing field as is possible for our kids everywhere and our country strives to be an even more perfect union. not an ideal union, but having the capacity to be able to discuss and discuss things in order to ensure that it is as accessible to everyone as is possible.”
The new regulation will alter the rules for the rules for athletics across the majority of Alaska school districts, with the exception of Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District which has there was a prohibition for trans-athletes was passed in June 2022.
