Nebraska student athletics board adopts restrictive transgender participation policy

Lincoln, Neb. (AP) — The leadership of a statewide association that sets policies for Nebraska high school sports adopted a gender participation proposal Thursday that says a committee will determine transgender students' eligibility.

The Nebraska School Activities Association's board of directors approved the policy on a 6-2 vote, and the policy takes effect immediately. The association's general assembly meets later this year, however, and could override the board's decision and adopt a different proposal that calls for birth gender to determine participation.

The policy requires a student to show he or she has undergone hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery before being allowed to participate in a sport that's inconsistent with the student's gender at birth. The committee would be made up of an association staff member, a physician experienced in transgender health care, psychiatrist or psychologist and an administrator from a school not involved in the student's case.

The committee would rule on the student's eligibility and a medical professional would have to verity the student's "consistent gender identification and expression." An appeal process is included.

The policy also says transgender students will have to use the restrooms according to their birth gender or be assigned private facilities.

On Tuesday the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska warned the association that the proposed policy would put the organization and schools at risk of being sued and of losing federal school funding.

"The policy proposed by the NSAA has numerous barriers to participation for transgender Nebraskans - not the least of which is the cumbersome and costly birth certificate process," ACLU of Nebraska executive director Danielle Conrad said. "In addition to being legally suspect, the currently drafted policy is disrespectful to students who simply want the opportunity to participate in sports."

School districts and private schools from four of six association regions across Nebraska have backed a proposal that would allow participation based only on a student's gender at birth. Because at least three of the districts backed that proposal, it will be considered by the association's 51-member Representative Assembly at its April 8 meeting.

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The Gayly – January 14, 2016 @ 1 p.m.