KSHSAA replaces long-standing transgender athlete policy to comply with new law

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — This week, the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) replaced its long-standing policy on transgender athletes in order to comply with House Bill 2238, which was passed into law earlier this month.

“We have a very good leadership team here at the office as well as elected leaders on the board that we rely on should we have to make additional interpretations,” KSHSAA Executive Director Bill Faflick said.

According to KSHSAA’s former policy, updated in April 2015, transgender athletes who wished to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity were considered by schools and the KSHSAA Executive Board on a case-by-case basis.

Now, under HB 2238 (Sections 3b-c): “Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex…The Kansas state high school activities association shall adopt rules and regulations for its member schools to implement the provisions of this section.”

“When it was case-by-case, I was okay with that for the fact that every trans person is different in their transition, but this is going to mostly affect kids though, and kids, for the most part, aren’t doing any kind of a medical transition,” Brenda Way, founder of WiTCoN (Wichita Transgender and Community Network), said.

In addition to banning transgender girls from girls’ sports, KSHSAA’s executive board determined should a dispute emerge, high schools must take into account a transgender athlete’s birth or adoption certificate to determine which teams they can join.

“It’s going to get challenged probably very quickly and immediately as soon as we have a trans child that says, this isn’t fair. We have organizations that are ready to take it to court,” Stephanie Byers, Former State Representative of District 86, said.

However, KSHSAA’s Executive Director says he doesn’t anticipate any legal challenges. 

“We always prepare for that, and you know, we’re gonna follow any rule with the fidelity that is necessary for it to actually be a guideline, a law that we follow,” Faflick said.

This comes as the Department of Education proposed a change to Title IX prohibiting any blanket ban on trans girls and women in female sports. Faflick says he feels KSHSAA’s new policy does not affect Title IX compliance but does anticipate amendments to Title IX in the next several years.

The updated KSHSAA policy goes into effect July 1, 2023.