Proposal to keep trans athletes out of girls' sports fails in Washington state
Washington state’s governing body for middle and high school athletics has rejected a proposal to limit girls’ sports to students assigned female at birth.
The move marks the latest clash between Washington and the Trump administration over gender identity policy.
The proposal narrowly failed on a 31 to 22 vote, according to results posted on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association website on Monday.
Rule amendments need at least 60% of the vote to pass, according to the association's policy. This proposal got about 58%, and would’ve passed with just one more vote.
Additionally, a second proposal that would’ve created a third “open” division for transgender athletes was soundly defeated with a 13 to 40 vote.
Even if the proposals had passed, neither would’ve been enacted. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association made the vote “advisory only” late last month, after a legal review found the proposals would violate state anti-discrimination laws.
In a news release Monday, the association reiterated its commitment to following state laws moving forward. But, if state laws change in the future, “the WIAA Executive Board holds the authority to revise policies accordingly—and now has input from the membership on how to proceed in that event, while remaining in compliance with state law.”
David VanderYacht is the superintendent of the Lynden School District, one of 14 districts behind the proposed rule change to ban trans girls from girls sports. Although the amendment failed, VanderYacht said Monday he hopes it sends a message to state officials that this conversation needed to happen — and it shouldn’t end with this vote.
“There’s a majority of school districts across this state that voted for change,” he said. “My hope out of this is that people will see it for what it is around fair competition, not that it is a subset of rural, bigoted communities that don’t want to support all children. This really is about fairness in girls sports.”
Washington Interscholastic Activities Association policy has allowed trans students to participate in sports programs consistent with their gender identity since 2007. At that time, it was among the first policies of its kind in the nation and was held up as a model for inclusivity.
But the close vote on the girls’ sports amendment signals how divisive and contentious the debate around transgender athletics has become in recent years — especially in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 executive order banning trans girls and women from participating in girls and women’s sports.
The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” also directs the federal government to withhold funding from educational institutions that don’t comply.
Several state officials have spoken out against the order.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal has been the loudest voice, calling the order discriminatory and a federal overreach. He has advised districts to continue following existing guidance from his office, which requires schools to “allow all students, including transgender and nonbinary students, the opportunity to participate on the interscholastic sports team that most closely aligns with their gender identity.”
Reykdal has also pledged to take legal action if federal funding is paused, withheld, or removed from any public schools in Washington, as Trump threatened to do in his order.
When the U.S. Department of Education launched a Title IX investigation into the Tumwater School District last month, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor alluded to this threat.
“If Washington wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Department, it has to follow federal law,” Trainor said in a news release at the time.
The conflicting guidance at the state and federal levels has put schools in legal limbo, leaving districts divided on whose policy to follow. Some, concerned about the threat of federal funding being pulled, have appealed to the feds for clearer guidance.
The Kennewick School Board took it a step further, filing a federal complaint against state officials, alleging they’re preventing the district from following the order and they don’t want it to lead to the loss of millions of dollars of critical funding.
Last week, the Lynden School Board passed a resolution asserting their intention to file similar federal complaints against OSPI — for both its gender-inclusive schools policy and its position on transgender athletics.
City council declines to codify Prop 1 after overturning
The Spokane City Council last night narrowly voted not to reinstate the city’s voter-approved public camping ban, Proposition 1.
Last week, the Washington Supreme Court ruled the ballot measure overstepped the authority of citizen initiatives.
In a four to three vote, councilmembers decided not to consider an ordinance that would have codified the language of Prop 1 into city code.
The policy prohibits camping within a thousand feet of a school, licensed daycare or park — which covers most of the city.
The city still has a public camping ban on the books, but it can’t be enforced when there are no shelter beds available.
WA, Spokane pass anti-discrimination policies targeting criminal records and housing status
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law new protections for people with criminal records who are applying for jobs.
"That means candidates and their qualifications receive fair consideration before being required to disclose any criminal history," Ferguson said during a bill signing Monday.
The new law still gives employers the right to do background checks after tendering an offer, and it lays out the conditions in which employers may rescind their offers.
The law takes effect at the start of next year for companies with 15 or more employees and at the start of 2027 for smaller businesses.
The Spokane City Council approved a similar bill by a 6-1 vote Monday night, this one aimed at preventing discrimination based on housing status.
Councilmember Michael Cathcart called it a small move toward helping people who struggle to find work.
"I think one of the most effective ways out of homelessness is a job and it is a proven path to stability," Cathcart said from the dais. "So it makes sense to remove a barrier like this."
Sponsors of the ordinance say Spokane is the first city in the nation to adopt what is known as a “Ban the Address” ordinance.
WA prohibits other state military groups from entering without express permission
Washington legislators are racing to approve bills as their Sunday adjournment date nears, and Gov. Ferguson is signing measures to keep up.
Monday, Ferguson signed about three dozen bills into law, including one that forbids other governments from sending their military units — uninvited — to the Evergreen State.
"We just cannot allow, as a state, to have armed forces come into our home and enforce policies that are against our core values," he said. "State autonomy is the foundation of our federalist system. This bill is a simple, but very important, expression of that system."
Ferguson said the bill was patterned after a law in Idaho. Montana and Texas are among other states with similar arrangements.
It allows outside troops if ordered by the president or endorsed by the governor.
Voters weigh funding proposals in special elections
Tuesday, April 22 is a special Election Day in Washington.
Voters in 23 counties will decide 39 ballot measures that seek funding for school and fire districts and hospitals.
There are two measures on the ballot in Spokane County.
Voters in the Orchard Prairie School District will decide the fate of a $6.2 million bond issue that would fund a new school building.
There’s also a bond issue for the Okanogan School District. The $14.2 million would pay for modernizing classrooms and offices.
The measure would also pay for infrastructure projects such as heating and cooling systems and new roofs, and for outdoor athletic facilities.
Residents in Spokane County Fire District 8 are being asked to approve a proposal that would support emergency medical services.
Another Fire District 8, this one in Stevens County, is also looking to continue funding for medical services through a property tax levy.
And Springdale’s Mary Walker School District in Stevens County has submitted a four-year levy to voters to supplement state funding.
Ballots must be returned to county elections offices by 8 pm or postmarked in the mail by today.
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Reporting by Sami West, Doug Nadvornick and Owen Henderson.