Parents across the city are reacting after Manhattan’s Community Education Council (CEC) District 2 passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for a review of a NYC policy that allows transgender athletes in city schools to compete in girls’ sports, claiming it was created with no independent input.
The council, which covers parts of Downtown Manhattan, Midtown and the Upper East Side, passed Resolution 248 with an overwhelming 8-3 vote. It calls for the Department of Education (DOE) to review and reassess its guidelines on gender inclusion because of alleged concerns about “preserving and acknowledging” the progress female athletes have historically made to achieve sports equality in recent years.
Some council members say the guidelines, which were created in 2019, do not indicate whether the DOE consulted with female athletes, coaches, sports medicine doctors or other experts in athletics or childhood development.
“The guidelines were developed by the city’s first LGBTQ liaison and stakeholders who were already supportive of replacing sex with gender identity,” the resolution states.
But NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks supports the 2019 guidelines, which were originally drafted under the leadership of former schools chancellor Richard Carranza. According to Banks, the CEC resolution is based on “unfounded and misleading” information.
“It’s especially troubling because we know sports build self confidence and a sense of belonging, which is especially critical for this group of students,” the chancellor said. “Rather than excluding our trans students, we ought to be working together to wrap our arms around them. They need our love, encouragement, and support, not political attacks.”
What are New Yorkers saying about the resolution?
Chase Strangio, a District 2 parent and lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, was “heartbroken” upon learning about the resolution.
“I was heartbroken when I learned as a District 2 parent about Resolution 248,” Strangio said. “As a trans person myself, as a parent and as a civil rights lawyer, I have seen and confronted the consequences and political impact of predatory actions like what Resolution 248 represents.”
Strangio, who has litigated against anti-trans laws across the country, is “disappointed” that similar restrictions are hitting closer to home.
“I will not sit idly by and see the same misinformed efforts pushed in my own school district,” Strangio added.
But other parents and New Yorkers said they understand the meaning behind Resolution 248, and would support similar action in their own school districts.
“As a man who competed in sports for nearly 14 years, intramural and mens’ only, I can say without a doubt, a transgender person who was born male should not be allowed to compete in female sports no matter when the transition occurred,” said Tom McLaughlin of Staten Island. “Men usually have an advantage over women in sports in terms of strength and speed.”
McClaughlin added that as a student athlete, he swam against girls who never received first place in any competition.
“I went to an all boys high school and swam agains other high schools that were co-ed and had women in my events,” he said. “The females never got first in any event.”
Another New York City parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she would “support a ban” on transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports.
Meanwhile, NYC elected officials are expressing their own outrage over the issue.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who represents parts of Manhattan, said it is “utterly shocking” that such a resolution would pass in some of the largest LGBTQ communities in the United States.
“This resolution not only goes against the principles of fairness and inclusion, but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes and bias against a population that is already subject to vicious discrimination and harassment,” Hoylman-Sigal said in a joint statement with other state senators. “Discriminating against transgender students not only harms the targeted individuals but also negatively impacts the entire school community.”
How much weight does the resolution hold?
The CEC’s vote is non-binding and does not have any weight when it comes to banning transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports in city schools.
But Maud Maron, a member of CEC District 2, which is one of the largest education council districts in the borough, sponsored and voted for the resolution, and hopes it will “spark a conversation about who is allowed to play girls’ sports,” according to the New York Post.
“If we have a proper and real conversation, one of the outcomes could be that nothing changes and that we all discover that these guidelines are just perfect as they are,” Maron explained in the Post article. “But another one of the possibilities is that we realize that the excluded voices had something really important to offer and they should have been heard from in the beginning.”
Maron, a Democrat who ran for Congress in 2022, has been outspoken on transgender issues in the past, even saying “There is no such thing as trans kids…,” according to an article in The 74, a news outlet that covers education news from across the country.
Gavin Healy, a parent and council member, called the resolution much more “nefarious” than just a request for review.
“The message is very clear that the factors of the resolution think that biological sex should be the way we define the right to participate in sports,” said Healy, who voted against the resolution. “And they want to roll back the current gender guidelines.”
Healy also finds it curious that the council is singling out transgender athletes and students and not other groups for review.
“It’s really harmful that you have cisgender people up there in a vacuum making decisions about other people’s right to participate in a public space,” Healy said.
