Lawsuits are underway in several states over the participation of transgender athletes in various sports, and President Donald Trump recently signed executive orders that would take away protections for people who are transgender. People across the country have been vocal on all sides of this issue, and here locally, it came to a head at a recent Lucia Mar Unified School District board meeting.
“She’s a really good kid and a kind kid, and anyone who knows her is going to tell you that,” said Hilary, the mother of a transgender student athlete at Arroyo Grande High School.
Hilary and Trevor’s 16-year-old daughter came out as transgender in her freshman year. The parents expressed concern for their daughter’s safety, so KSBY agreed to use only their first names in this report.
“She did have a meeting with the student services director and they set up a plan and talked about what it would look like for her to come out at school, and then we sat with that for awhile and then when our daughter decided that was what she wanted to do, we sent an email and the plan was implemented, and it was a very smooth process,” Hilary explained.
Now, nearing the end of her sophomore year, she is participating in track and field. It’s a sport her parents say she’s loved since middle school.
“She is a sprinter and a jumper, so she’s been doing the 100, 200, 400, and long jump. Her favorite ones are the relays because then she is part of a team,” Trevor said.
But not everyone feels this should be allowed.
At least 50 people with opinions on the matter filled the most recent school board meeting.
It opened up a conversation about not only the teen’s participation in track and field, but also her ability to change in the girls' locker room and use the girls' restrooms.
“I am calling you out on your current policy. A policy that makes my daughter and her female counterparts feel unsafe and unprotected by their school,” said Amy Duyst, the parent of an AGHS athlete.
“Adults like yourself make me and my peers feel like our own comfort is invalid, even though our privacy is and has been completely violated,” said Celeste Duyst, an AGHS track athlete.
The school district says basically, its hands are tied. A spokesperson told KSBY that the district must follow both federal and state laws.
California state law reads that all students should “be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
Parents of the transgender athlete hope other students get the chance to know their daughter before jumping to conclusions.
“The kids that have gotten a chance to get to know her, her identity as a trans youth falls away and becomes a secondary issue, and that’s all we can ask for. Her being trans is the least interesting thing about her,” Trevor said.
During public comment, Celeste, visibly upset, told board members the trans athlete watched her and other young women undress, which she described as traumatizing.
KSBY reached out to the school district, which said that no complaints were filed at the district level and any complaints at the school level are thoroughly investigated.
