In the small town of Ramona, a big issue of national debate is emerging: who should play in girls' high school sports.
The resolution came out of the blue, said Weylin Booth, the founder of Ramona Pride and a transgender man.
“The honest truth of growing up queer in this community is you oftentimes really don't (grow up queer), because people don't talk about those kind of things,” he said.
Ramona Pride hosted its first Pride visibility walk around Main Street in 2022.
On Nov. 13, the Ramona Unified School District Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to maintain “equitable athletic opportunities for female students.”
It’s called “Supporting Title IX and fairness in girls’ interscholastic sports.”
Title IX is a federal law that prevents sex-based discrimination in education.
Booth said he asked other members of Ramona Pride if they had heard about any specific issues regarding trans athletes competing in high school sports in the district — and no one was aware of anything.
“None of these are problems we’re facing, all it serves to do is harm transgender students,” Booth said.
The resolution language references “biological differences between male and female athletes."
That language is often “used to ban trans women … from participating in the sports of their chosen gender identity,” Booth said.
Board member Maya Phillips drafted the resolution.
There wasn't a specific incident or individual that spurred the agenda item — it's a proactive resolution, she said.
“Allowing boys to compete in girls' sports is a slap in the face to fairness, merit and hard work,” Phillips said.
The district said the resolution will not have an impact on its policies.
“The District understands and follows the current requirements of the law and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) concerning athletic participation,” Ramona Superintendent Brian Thurman said in an emailed statement.
California law allows students to participate in sports based on their gender identity, regardless of what’s written on official records.
Phillips said her goal is to change that.
“To make our voices heard, hoping it will change California CIF at the end to follow federal interpretation of Title IX,” she said.
There’s been national pushback against trans athletes in recent years.
President Donald Trump openly criticized a California high school track athlete who is transgender in May. He threatened to withhold federal funding if she was not barred from competition.
Phillips said that's part of why she drafted the resolution.
“I wanted to call on the CIF to ensure their policies align with principles of fairness, safety and equal opportunity as outlined in Title IX, which would protect federal funding of districts like ours,” she said. “Most importantly it would preserve safety and fair athletic opportunities for girls.”
But the board’s declaration is exclusionary against trans students, and it will hurt them, Booth said.
“I couldn't think of any good reason they would do so other than plain bigotry and wanting to harm minorities and separate them from their peers,” he said.
Phillips said she was inspired to draft the resolution after seeing other school districts in the state take similar action.
She said the board sent the resolution to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the State Legislature as well as the State Department of Education and CIF, advocating for changes to state athletic policy.
It seems unlikely the state will change its position.
On Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced his office joined a coalition of 15 attorneys general submitting an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Little v. Hecox and Virginia v. B.P.J. Those cases challenge laws that ban transgender girls and women from playing on athletic teams that match their gender identity.
The cases are expected to be argued in January.
“All children deserve the right to fully participate in school activities as their authentic selves,” Bonta said in a statement. “Policies that block transgender students from joining sports teams consistent with their gender identity are both discriminatory and unlawful. My office will continue to fight against threats to LGBTQ+ individuals’ rights wherever and whenever they arise."
