Local education leaders in the Pacific Northwest are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender student-athletes. A top leader in Washington state quickly condemned Trump’s ban on transgender athletes in women’s and girls' sports; Oregon leaders have been more reserved, saying they’re assessing the president’s actions.

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order requiring educational institutions to exclude transgender student-athletes from women’s and girls’ sports in order to continue receiving federal funds. The “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” executive order follows other measures Trump has signed targeting transgender participation in the military and access to health care.

The order argues that many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports in recent years. “This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls,” the order states, “and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal spoke to the latest order on behalf of K-12 schools, calling it “another attempt to override the authority of states and local school districts.”

Trump signs executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports

Reykdal said his staff is working closely with the state attorney general’s office to understand the next steps in response to this “unlawful order.”

“One thing is clear,” he wrote in a statement Thursday. “The 47th President of the United States is disregarding the rule of law by attempting to unilaterally impose an attack on the specific student groups that anti-discrimination laws aim to protect.”

Reykdal said Trump’s order directly contradicts state law, including the Washington Law Against Discrimination and state laws blocking discrimination in public schools.

“Our state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and we will not back down from that,” he said. “Washington state will do everything in our power to defend the rule of law, states' rights to establish education policy, and to protect the beautiful diversity of our 1.1 million students and educators.

“We believe in inclusion over discrimination,” his remarks concluded, “and love over hate.”

Oregon state officials assessing impact of Trump’s orders

Officials with the Oregon Department of Education told OPB on Friday that the agency is committed to ensuring all children feel welcome and safe in school and that they can learn to their full potential.

“ODE is actively assessing all executive orders that have been introduced and their potential impacts on Oregon,” Communications Director Marc Siegel said in a written statement.

Siegel said guidance given to schools on supporting “gender expansive students” is grounded in state law. “Gender expansive” is an umbrella term that includes transgender and nonbinary students.

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In Oregon, public K-12 schools that receive state funding are prohibited from engaging in gender identity discrimination, according to the state document. Under Oregon law, gender identity is defined generally as “an individual’s gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior, regardless of whether the identity, appearance, expression or behavior differs from that associated with the gender assigned to the individual at birth.”

Siegel said the guidance has been provided to schools and has been available in Oregon since 2016.

A spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek’s office said in a written statement on Friday that the governor is “committed to standing up for Oregon values, and her office is assessing the potential impact of the executive order. The Governor is unwavering in her commitment to uphold Oregonian’s state-guaranteed protections and civil rights.”

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Individual district leaders have been speaking up in support of their LGBTQ+ students.

For example, Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong sent a message to families, students and staff on Thursday, acknowledging the effects they may be feeling.

“To our transgender students, please know that you are a vital and cherished part of our school community,” Armstrong wrote. “We see you, we value you, and we support you. We are here to ensure that you have the resources, safety and support you need to succeed.”

On the other end of the spectrum, the National Collegiate Athletic Association updated its participation policy for transgender student-athletes on Thursday to align with Trump’s order.

The updated NCAA policy specifies that a student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete on a women’s team, though they “may practice on the team consistent with their gender identity and receive all other benefits applicable to student-athletes who are otherwise eligible for practice.”

NCAA changes transgender policy to limit women's competition to athletes assigned female at birth

Additionally, a student-athlete assigned female at birth who has begun hormone therapy, such as testosterone, may not compete on a women’s team under the new policy. There are no such restrictions regarding participation on men’s sports teams.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education is now interpreting Title IX — the federal law governing discrimination on the basis of sex — as a way to crack down on schools violating Trump’s executive order on transgender athletes.

And Oregon, Washington and Minnesota’s attorneys general have joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration over another executive order that aims to block access to gender-affirming care for transgender children and young adults.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/07/pacific-northwest-education-leaders-resist-trump-transgender/