COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado’s 18th largest school district, located about 15 miles northeast of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, appears to be the first to unilaterally develop transgender athlete regulations in adherence to recent presidential executive orders.
Saying that “there are inherent differences between boys and girls, meaning biological males and biological females” the Falcon 49 school board last week enacted a new policy specifying in part that “classification of sports team participation by biological sex is therefore necessary to preserve and promote equal opportunity for District 49’s female athletes.”
The policy, titled Preserving Fairness and Safety in Sports, goes on to state: “Allowing boys to compete in girls’ sports is part of a broader attempt to debase the entire category of ‘woman’ and transform laws intended to protect sex-based opportunities into laws that hurt girls by undermining their identity, are inherently unfair, and denigrating to their rights.”
A spokesperson for the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) said the policy itself will not prevent the district’s schools from participating in organized sports, despite the organizing group’s bylaws expressly allowing for transgendered athletes to compete across biological sex lines.
CHSAA “follows state law regarding participation of transgender students in interscholastic athletics and activities. Our bylaws reflect and align with Colorado’s legal framework, while also recognizing the authority of local schools and districts to make decisions in accordance with their own policies and community values,” said Amanda McClure, CHSAA’s director of communications. “CHSAA does not have a bylaw that mandates a school or district to permit or deny participation by transgender athletes. Instead, we acknowledge the rights of both member schools that choose to allow transgender participation and those that do not, so long as their policies are consistent with applicable law.”
Biological sex is defined in the district’s policy as “an individual’s physical form as a male or female based solely on the individual’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
Under the new policy, athletic teams in the district will be divided into three categories: boys, girls or co-ed, and stipulates that boys cannot compete on girls’ teams, girls cannot compete on boys’ teams, locker rooms are not interchangeable and hotel rooms will not commingle biological boys with biological girls.
The policy makes it clear that, despite possible conflict with Colorado anti-discrimination laws, the action was taken after a presidential executive order that the school board believes would put it’s federal funding in jeopardy if they did not comply.
President Trump announced in Executive Order 14201 (February 5, 2025) that “it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”
District 49 is currently suing the state over those anti-discrimination laws.
Although CHSAA’s bylaws state that “Member schools shall ensure that all students have equal access and opportunities to participate in activities and athletics without unlawful discrimination based on disability, race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, national origin, or ancestry,” McClure said that “CHSAA has never imposed any penalties or sanctions on a member school or district based on its local transgender participation policy. Our approach has always been rooted in collaboration, respect for local governance, and adherence to Colorado law.”
