The Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) board of directors voted to adopt a rule Monday that bans boys from competing on girl’s teams in public schools, according to Anchorage Daily News.
Legislation to ban boys from girls’ sports failed to pass the Alaska legislature in recent legislative sessions, and the Alaska Board of Education, whose members were appointed by Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, voted for a measure doing so in August, according to Anchorage Daily News. The ASAA board of directors proposed to amend association bylaws at its meeting to adopt the measure, and voted on Oct. 9 to ban boys from participating in girls’ sports. (RELATED: California K-12 Superintendent Who Backed Hiding Kids’ Gender Transitions Enters Race For Governor)
“If a separate high school athletics team is established for female students, participation shall be limited to females who were assigned female at birth,” the proposal reads.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy delivers remarks to service members, first responders, and their families on the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on September 11, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“Prior to the first contest of the season for a specific sport, a school may declare a team as a coed team. If a school chooses to have a coed team, then it may not have a separate team in that sport. Any school declaring a coed team may not compete in any district, regional or state competition in the division limited to females who were assigned female at birth,” the proposal continues.
Other states have also moved to ban boys from participating in women’s sports.
Florida banned biological men participating in women’s sports in public schools with a bill signed in June 2021 by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also signed a bill to do so in March 2021.
Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt and School Board President Margo Bellamy wrote in a letter earlier this year the district “will continue to provide a safe and welcoming school environment for all students,” according to Anchorage Daily News.
“I rather expect that at least the ACLU of Alaska will file a lawsuit, as they had rattled about it during the Alaska Board of Education deliberations about this. But they’ll first have to find a plaintiff that is actually harmed, so this may not unfold immediately,” Suzanne Downing, editor of Must Read Alaska told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Alaska School Activities Association did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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