In a significant move, the Kennewick School Board has filed a federal Title IX complaint against officials in Washington state. The focus is on the state’s existing policies permitting transgender students to participate in sports teams that align with their gender identity.
On Wednesday, the board sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, calling for “URGENT federal intervention” due to the “open and egregious Title IX violations currently occurring within the state’s student athletics and the necessary school district policies mandated by the state.”
The complaint identifies several parties, including the state of Washington, state Superintendent Chris Reykdal, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which oversees middle and high school athletics in the state.
“We are especially worried that the openly discriminatory policies and mandates… not only directly harm our young women,” the board states, “but also put our district’s crucial federal funding at risk, the loss of which would most significantly affect our most impoverished and at-risk populations.”
Following the signing of an executive order by President Donald Trump, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” significant discussions are expected to arise. The legislation bars transgender girls and women from competing in women’s sports and mandates that the federal government cut funding to educational institutions that fail to adhere to this rule.
The WIAA has announced that it will postpone any changes until it obtains additional legal guidance. The WIAA assembly is set to vote next month on two proposals aimed at restricting the participation of transgender youth in sports.
Reykdal criticised the order as a federal overreach, stating it “directly contradicts” state laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. He urged school districts to adhere to the current state guidelines, which stipulate that “schools must permit all students, including transgender and nonbinary individuals, to participate on the interscholastic sports team that best corresponds with their gender identity.”
In the weeks that followed, Reykdal has remained consistent in his stance, despite the Department of Education initiating an investigation into the Tumwater School District for permitting a high school girls basketball game to take place with a transgender girl on the opposing team.
On Thursday, Reykdal reiterated his position regarding the matter.
“As the head of this constitutional office, my responsibility is to convey, maintain, and implement the law,” he stated. “An executive order does not constitute law and cannot supersede state law.” OSPI is committed to upholding existing laws as mandated in our constitutional democracy, until such time as Congress amends the law or federal courts overturn Washington state’s regulations.
Reykdal stated, “We are ready to pursue legal action if any federal funds are paused, withheld, or taken away from our public schools.”
The Kennewick School Board has expressed that a loss of funding would have catastrophic consequences. Approximately 10% of the district’s budget is sourced from federal government funding. That figure is a bit above the state average — across all districts in Washington, federal funding constitutes approximately 7% of budgets, as reported by OSPI.
“With over 80% of our budgets allocated to staff salaries and benefits, a 10% reduction in available funds would have a catastrophic impact on our district,” stated the school board.
The board emphasises that the ongoing challenges are exacerbated by Washington and its legislative bodies, which have “consistently refused to fully fund K-12 education, leaving many districts in precarious financial positions throughout the state.”
The board warns that this could disproportionately impact the most vulnerable students, potentially resulting in “even greater inequity.”
Public schools benefit significantly from two major sources of federal funding. Title I offers additional financial support to schools with a high percentage of low-income students, while the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) assists in covering expenses related to special education services for students in need.
“The Kennewick School District is currently confronted with a significant challenge: It must choose between adhering to state mandates that threaten our federal funding or following Executive Orders designed to protect our girls and young women, which could lead to backlash from Washington State Officials,” the board stated. “The ongoing conflict poses a significant risk to our efforts in establishing a secure and inclusive environment for our 18,000 students, while also encroaching upon both federal and local jurisdictions.”
