Norfolk Board of Education adopts transgender athlete policy

The Norfolk Board of Education passed a policy requiring students to play on sports teams based on their sex assigned at birth.

The board voted 5-1 on Monday night after hearing from almost 50 people during more than two hours of public comment.

Those in support of the policy said it’s about keeping women’s sports fair. Those against the policy said it’s discrimination against transgender athletes and were concerned it could open the district to potential lawsuits.

Bralyn Danekas, a sophomore at Norfolk High School, started a petition against the policy that had almost 500 signatures. She said transgender students already experience discrimination in school.

“We may not be able to control our peers, but you can all help our transgender students feel validated in their skin by being on sports teams that correspond with their gender,” Danekas said at the board meeting.

Francisco Villa, a Norfolk resident, said he decided to pull his daughter out of Norfolk Public Schools and homeschool her partly due to the controversy around the policy. He said he is for the policy, but he questioned if there could be a third team created.

“If there is the whole, just male, just female and one for everyone,” Villa said.

Missy Rech has a transgender son who graduated from Norfolk Public Schools. She said her son was involved in several activities as a student, including speech.

“Shawn told me today that he felt supported by his school — then,” she said. “He wouldn’t feel supported today.”

Sarah Abler, a Norfolk resident, said she was disappointed when the National Collegiate Athletics Association allowed transgender athletes to compete on the team that aligned with their gender, and she spoke in support of the policy.

“This is about keeping the integrity of women’s sports,” she said.

Like Villa, Abler was in favor of adding a third team.

OutNebraska, a LGBTQ+ organization, released a statement condemning the policy.

“Every single student, transgender or not, deserves the opportunity to challenge themselves, improve fitness and be part of a team,” Executive director Abbi Swatsworth said in the statement.

Currently, the Nebraska School Activities Association examines each transgender athlete’s situation on a case by case basis, but school districts are allowed to set their own policies.