At the August 29th Kearsarge School District meeting, the school board members voted 6-1 to allow a junior boy to play on the Girl’s Soccer team. This reversed their decision from two weeks prior to follow the new NH state law HB 1205 that prohibits biological boys from playing on a girl only team from grades 5 to 12.
Why the change? Why do they now feel like they can ignore and break the law?
The school board cited the new changes to Title IX made by the Biden administration, the current NH Anti-discrimination law signed into law by Governor Sununu in 2017, and the current court case in Plymouth, NH, in which the judge is only allowing that particular boy to play on a girls’ soccer team until that court case is settled.
We want to thank Nancy Biederman for this Contribution. Submit yours to steve@granitegrok.com
This is exactly what I and others who have been fighting for girls’ sports in the Granite State were afraid of when Governor Sununu failed to sign HB396. HB 396 would have given the school district the leeway to ignore the anti-discrimination law and make their own decision for the safety and wellbeing of the girls on their sports team and other sports teams that they will face. The board would have been able to secure the awards, scholarships and opportunities that this boy has already taken from girls in NH, even his own team mate.
This past winter, this boy won the NH State Indoor Track Championship for High Jump. Since he won first place, he and the second-place winner would advance to the Regional Track Championship. The third-place winner, was a girl from his own team, was denied the experience and opportunity to go to regionals. His victory also came with a new high jump record. This boy’s 5-feet 2-inch jump was a full inch higher than any other girl. If he had competed in the boy’s division he would have been in last place. The lowest boys’ jump was 5 feet 8 inches and the highest was 6 feet 2 inches. He has now taken the state record away from a girl! How is that fair?
According to a GLAD attorney,
“There is no way to undo the kind of harm that comes from being excluded from participating with our friends in practice or in games. There is no way to compensate somebody later on for the stigma that’s carried on with them after they experience discrimination”
Of course he was not speaking about the girls who are denied a spot of the team because a boy took it, he was speaking about this boy wanting to play on a girls’ team.
When will the parents and other girls on the team stand up and fight? Are they intimidated by other members of their community, or do they think the school board has already resolved this issue and will follow the law?
I took time out of my day, and drove an hour to the August 29th Kearsarge School Board meeting and testified for all the girls who are losing opportunities to these boys. Very few people in the room seemed to care about those girls and their lost opportunities and mental health. They just cared about this boy!
Parents of Kearsarge school district students, you need to stand up. NH law is on your side. Where is the NH Attorney General? Where is the Department of Education? Since the soccer team was already picked, I am wondering which girl was kicked off the varsity team to allow this boy to play. Who is standing up for that girl? Not her school board; they would rather break the law!
