Transgender Athletes No Longer Have To Prove Sex Change: NJSIAA

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ – Transgender students will be eligible to play the high school sports that match their gender identity without a revised birth certificate or a doctor's certification, under a policy approved by the NJSIAA on Wednesday.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association executive committee voted to accept the policy, which updated it transgender policy that was first established in 2009, according to a news release from the association.

The state governing body oversees high school sports competition for 437 member schools in 32 sports in New Jersey. Under the new regulations, a transgender student is defined simply as a student whose gender identity differs from that student’s birth sex.

"Transgender students will be eligible to participate in accordance with either their birth sex or in accordance with their gender identity, but not both," the updated policy says. "Medical consultation is no longer required."

Before now, students who sought to participate in sports based on their gender identity had to provide an official record, such as an revised birth certificate, a passport, or a driver's license, that reflected their gender identity, or a letter from a physician certifying the student had "appropriate clinical treatment" for transition to the reassigned sex or was in the process of transition to the reassigned sex.

Under the revised policy, member schools may appeal the eligibility of a transgender student on the grounds that the student’s participation in interscholastic athletics would adversely affect competition, safety, or both.

"Any appeal under this paragraph will be heard by the Eligibility Appeals Committee and will be confidential," the NJSIAA said. "The Eligibility Appeals Committee will not consider whether the school has properly determined the student’s sex-assignment."

The policy change was in response to a recent state law that permitting a transgender student to participate in gender-segregated school activities in accordance with the student’s gender identity.

According to Garden State Equality, transgender individuals make up approximately 0.7 percent of the U.S. population, meaning that in New Jersey, there are an estimated 13,900 transgender students in K-12 schools.

Across the country, 46 state associations have policies on transgender participation according to gender identity, according to the National Federation of High Schools, the national association for high school athletics.

According to the website Transathlete.com, which tracks policies on the subject, several of those states have discriminatory policies, that require students to have undergone gender reassignment surgery to be eligible to participate in sports that match their gender identity.

New Jersey is now one of 16 states where the high school athletic associations place no requirements for medical documentation on transgender students, according toTransathlete.com, which tracks policies on the subject.

The issue of transgender students and schools has been controversial. In July, when Gov. Chris Christie signed into law a bill that expressly tells schools they cannot force transgender students to use bathrooms or locker rooms that conflict with their gender identity. Prior to that, however, when school districts discussed enacting policies to accommodate students who are transgender, those efforts were met with protests and, in Toms River, threats of a lawsuit.

Under the law Christie signed in July, schools are mandated to provide "reasonable alternative arrangements if needed to ensure a student's safety and comfort."

“NJSIAA has a duty to address major issues impacting the student-athletes we represent,” said Steven Timko, NJSIAA executive director. “This policy simply states that we will allow the student-athlete to participate in accordance with their identified gender.”

There have been instances of transgender athletes participating in sports in New Jersey, though how many is unclear as schools try to protect the identities of teens due to issues of bullying. Despite changes in state laws regarding both transgender issues and bullying, problems continue to arise: a Newark high school student was visciously beaten in a vicious attack in late September by students who screamed slurs, according to reports.

One transgender athlete who went public is Matt Dawkins, a track athlete from Cherokee High School. Dawkins was profiled in 2016 by ESPN, which followed him for a year, documenting his participation on the boys track and field team as well as his transition to being a boy. Matt was born female, and as Maya Dawkins began high school as a record-setting sprinter in girls track with NCAA and Olympic potential, but gave up those possibilities to transition to his gender identity.

"People need to understand what gender identity means," said Corrine O'Hara, LGBT coordinator with HiTops, a nonprofit health education and advocacy organization dedicated to providing comprehensive sexuality education for young adults and promoting healthy relationships and supportive connections.

"This is how people are expressing who they are," O'Hara said in a 2016 interview with the Patch. "Really being true to themselves. I think they should be celebrated. They are just trying to figure out who they are and be true to themselves."

Watch Now: NJ Transgender Athletes No Longer Have To Prove Sex Change

READ MORE: Beyond The Bathroom: Transgender Policies Under Review By N.J. Schools

Image via Morguefile