ATLANTA (Washington Insider Magazine) – The primary athletic association for Georgia high schools decided on Wednesday to prohibit transgender girls and boys from participating in school sports teams that correspond to their gender identification, instead requiring them to compete in teams that correspond to the sex given on their birth certificates.
The amendment was unanimously approved by the Georgia High School Association’s executive council, which met in Thomaston. It will go into operation for the following school year, according to spokesperson Steve Figueroa.
Supporters of the ban argue that transgender females have an undue advantage since they were born as stronger men, and that those born as girls may be denied spots on teams or podiums if competing against transgender girls.
Governor Brian Kemp, a Republican campaigning for reelection, has endorsed the prohibition. Kemp said he intended to maintain fairness in school athletics when he signed a law last week confirming the GHSA’s right to exclude transgender players.
Opponents claimed that barring transgender children would convey a negative signal to a group that is already at risk of suicide or self-harm.
At least 12 Republican-led states have approved legislation prohibiting transgender girls and women from participating in sports. Other Republican-led states are exploring similar legislation. Other states, including Texas, have adopted regulations prohibiting transgender females from participating in sports, similar to Georgia’s.
The Georgia Association let school boards and individual schools to decide which teams transgender students may participate on from 2016 till today. The group comprises both public and private schools. The adjustment, according to GHSA Executive Director Robin Hines, simply reverts to the birth certificate regulation that was in place before 2016.
However, it’s unclear whether any transgender pupils were involved in athletics. No concrete instances were given by proponents of a ban. Hines said he’s heard a few trans athletes compete in boys cross-country, but the association doesn’t keep track of the situation.
After Georgia legislators failed to reach an agreement on a bill prohibiting transgender children from participating in sports that match their gender identification, House Bill 1084 was enacted, confirming GHSA’s current jurisdiction to manage the problem.
Kemp pushed legislators to act on the closing night of Georgia’s legislative session, which resulted in the last-minute agreement. According to ABC NEWS, the bill’s approval was hurried to the point that many members didn’t have copies of the legislation and had no idea what they were deciding on.
Opponents expressed astonishment that the association moved without more review on Wednesday, citing phrasing in the law that appeared to call for a study panel. They stated that although they were receptive to some restrictions, they were opposed to a complete prohibition.
Several public school districts whose ambassadors got to vote for their policy were disobeying their own guidelines that are more open and accepting to transgender students, according to Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, a group advocating for the transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay community. Opponents further claimed that a ban would violate Title IX of the federal education legislation forbidding sex discrimination, as well as an executive order issued by Democratic President Joe Biden banning gender – based discrimination identification in school athletics and elsewhere, and federal court judgments.
The prohibition had been blocked by Republican House Speaker David Ralston of Blue Ridge, but he succumbed to the compromise. He told journalists shortly after the bill was passed that he did not want transgender kids to be “targeted,” and that he wanted to inform the GHSA of this.
Ralston spokesman Kaleb McMichen stated Wednesday that the House Speaker has not discussed the issue with the group.
