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The Riverside school board on Thursday, Jan. 16, will discuss a resolution that would call on state legislators to repeal a law allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports.
Under the proposal, the Riverside Unified School District would formally request that the state repeal Education Code 221.5, which allows equal access to sports and facilities for all students, regardless of assigned gender at birth.
The resolution states that, prompted by a recent lawsuit against the district and instances of female athletes being displaced by transgender athletes, there has been significant pubic sentiment calling on the district to “protect fairness in girls’ sports and to advocate for changes in state law that prioritize biological distinctions in athletic competition.”
The resolution was requested by a resident and prepared by Amanda Vickers, the newly elected board member for Trustee Area 3. Vickers was endorsed by the Republican Party of Riverside County, and won her race against Chani Beeman in November.
In November, students at Riverside’s Martin Luther King High School sued, alleging the district violated students’ first amendment rights and denied students fair and equal access to athletics. In the federal lawsuit, a student alleged she was replaced on the cross country team by a transgender athlete.
At the Dec. 20 Riverside school board meeting, several people — including two state legislators — called on Superintendent Renee Hill to resign over the district’s handling of the situation.
The suit alleges that King students opposed to the district’s actions wore T-shirts with the slogans “Save Girls’ Sports” and “It’s Common Sense. XX ≠ XY,” and were told by a school administrator that this was akin to wearing Nazi swastikas in front of Jewish students.
LGBTQ groups said the actions prompted bullying attacks against transgender students. TruEvolution, a Riverside-based LBGTQ center, called on the public via Instagram to attend Thursday’s meeting to speak for inclusion and fairness and to advocate for the safety of transgender and non-binary students.
The rights of transgender athletes have received national attention in the past two weeks as the country prepares to change administrations Monday, Jan. 20.
On Tuesday Jan. 14, Congress passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 in a 218-206 vote. The bill would restrict the participation of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports and could affect federal funding for schools and states that don’t comply.
The Associated Press reported Jan. 3 that President Joe Biden had scrapped plans that would have provided protections for transgender student-athletes.
Biden’s actions are considered a common strategy for outgoing administrations as they rush through policies or abandon unfinished regulations to prevent the incoming administration from using to advance their agenda, The AP reported.
The 5:30 p.m. board meeting is at the Riverside Adult School, 6735 Magnolia Ave.
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