Feds investigate Cheney Public Schools, 4 other WA districts over transgender student athlete policy

Cheney Public Schools has caught the eye of the federal government.

The Department of Education on Wednesday launched an investigation into four Washington school districts, including Cheney, over complaints about the districts’ transgender student athlete policies.

Cheney is named in the Department of Education’s civil rights investigation alongside Washington districts Tacoma, Vancouver and Sultan, all on the West Side. Fourteen other districts, colleges and state educational agencies across the nation are also included in the investigation.

The department identified these schools from Title IX complaints the agency received, according to a press release from the department.

“The complaints assert that these entities, which range from K-12 school districts to postsecondary education institutions to state departments of education, maintain policies or practices that discriminate on the basis of sex by permitting students to participate in sports based on their ‘gender identity,’ not biological sex,” the release reads. “These policies jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities.”

Cheney Public Schools allows for trans kids to play on whichever team best aligns with their gender identity, consistent with the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is aware of the investigation, wrote agency spokesperson Katy Payne.

“Washington state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and school districts are acting in alignment with state law when they provide trans students with the opportunity to participate in athletics in alignment with their gender identity,” Payne wrote.

The authority on school sports, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, has allowed trans kids to play based on gender identity rather than sex since 2008, the first policy of its kind in the nation.

It’s unclear why Cheney drew attention, since state law allows trans kids to play sports based on their gender identity.

Cheney Public Schools spokesperson Jenna Larson said the district is aware of the investigation but “at this time, we cannot comment on the substance of the investigation, but we intend to cooperate with the investigator throughout the process.”

When reached by phone Thursday afternoon, four school board members, Elizabeth Winer, Henry Brown, Mark Scott and Bill Hanson, declined to comment on the investigation. Board member Mitch Swenson didn’t return a request seeking comment.

At this time last year, the board reviewed the district’s “gender inclusive schools” policy that has long allowed for trans kids to play on whichever team matches with their gender identity, consistent with state anti-discrimination laws on the matter.

The board voted 4-1 to approve the policy, Scott voting “No” because “his beliefs conflict” with the policy, according to meeting minutes from the time.

Hanson and Browne said that they take an oath to uphold the laws of the state, despite personal feelings on the matter.

“It is a director’s sworn duty to uphold the law and oversee the school district, being careful not to use personal beliefs as a reason not to uphold the law,” Browne said in meeting minutes. “There are legitimate avenues to address concerns, and this is not one of them.”

According to the minutes, Winer spoke to transgender students in Cheney, “sharing they are heard, seen and valued in this district.”

The investigation comes as the United States Supreme Court this week heard arguments in two cases challenging state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that restrict play to sex assigned at birth.

Also addressing the hot-button topic of transgender student athletes is a Washington initiative that will likely be on November ballots. The initiative, still pending with officials to confirm it got the required number of signatures, seeks to prevent trans girls from competing in girls sports.