The Philadelphia School District plans to defy President Donald Trump’s executive orders allowing biologically born male athletes to compete in women’s sports.
The district made the announcement earlier this week in a statement regarding its intentions, citing a desire to allow transgender students to “imagine and realize any future they desire.”
“The School District of Philadelphia strives to ensure safety, equity, and justice for all students regardless of gender identity or gender expression so that they can imagine and realize any future they desire,” Christina Clark, spokesperson for the school district, said in a statement Tuesday night. “The District will continue to align its practices to support its LGBTQ+ students in accordance with Board Policy 252 for transgender and gender non-conforming students.”
The district’s decision goes against Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” read Trump’s order. “This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
“Moreover, under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX), educational institutions receiving Federal funds cannot deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports,” the order specified. “As some Federal courts have recognized, ‘ignoring fundamental biological truths between the two sexes deprives women and girls of meaningful access to educational facilities.’”
MAINE DISENFRANCHISES VOTERS TO PROTECT TRANSGENDER ACTIVISM
Trump’s directive adds that it is now the nation’s official policy to revoke all funding for any educational institution that refuses to comply. The Philadelphia School District is the first in the country to go against the executive order. In doing so, it risks losing over $33 million in federal funding.
The district’s decision comes just one day after the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association updated its policy on transgender athletes to align with the policy of the Trump administration.
