The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian advocacy group, filed a civil rights complaint against the state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and its member schools with the United States Department of Education, regarding the participation of transgender girls in high school sports in Washington.
The complaint, filed Wednesday on behalf of Prosser High School senior Soleil Hoefer and Gonzaga Prep freshman Kora Lengerich by ADF lead counsel Katherine L. Anderson, alleges that the WIAA’s policy of allowing transgender athletes to participate in the sport consistent with their gender identity is discriminatory and “a violation of Title IX’s guarantee that students shall receive equal opportunity to enjoy educational benefits regardless of sex.”
The complaint points to an East Valley (Spokane) transgender athlete’s Class 2A state track and field championship in the 400-meter dash last May, and an instance last March when Lengerich finished fourth in a race against the same athlete who finished first as evidence that the “deck is stacked” against athletes assigned female at birth because of the WIAA’s policy.
“Kora has already lost a podium spot to this athlete, and Soleil will likely have to run against the athlete soon,” the complaint reads. “It is fundamentally unfair that despite all of their hard work and discipline, Soleil and Kora may be deprived of the thrill of victory because Washington forces them to race against males with inherent biological advantages.”
The complaint also says the WIAA’s policy fails to protect a designated category in school sports for female athletes, and places no physical limitations on when a transgender student can compete in girls sports. It requests that the Department of Education investigate their alleged Title IX violations and require the WIAA to amend its policy to “require participation in sex-designated sports categories based on sex, not gender identity.” There are few known transgender athletes in the state.
The WIAA’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identity has been in place since 2007, and was one of the first policies of its kind in the nation. The state has a rule that ensures equal access to middle and high school sports for transgender students which is 17 years old.
In December, a group of 14 school districts proposed a pair of amendments to the WIAA handbook that would restrict participation in girls sports at the middle school and high school levels to students who were assigned female at birth. A second proposal would create a new “open” division for transgender athletes to compete in.
Those amendments were found by the WIAA to be in violation of state law if enacted. The vote regarding them was changed to advisory-only.
WIAA Executive Director Mick Hoffman said in December that the current policy regarding trans athletes follows Washington’s anti-discrimination laws. But in light of President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports,” those state laws are in conflict with demands from the federal government.
Last week, the Kennewick School Board filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against the state and WIAA over what it called “open and egregious Title IX violations,” and saying that complying with state law could jeopardize its federal funding.
Trump’s order seeks to ban transgender girls and women from participating in girls high school and women college sports teams, and threatens to withhold federal funds from institutions that do not comply.
The Alliance Defending Freedom has pursued a litany of legal cases opposing same-sex marriage, transgender rights, insurance coverage for contraception, abortion access and more.
The group, which crafted Mississippi’s abortion ban that paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, has continued to litigate abortion-related issues.
The firm is also known for a number of Supreme Court wins, including its successful defense of a Colorado web designer who didn’t want to create websites celebrating same-sex weddings and a Colorado baker who didn’t want to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
The WIAA’s Hoffman said Friday via text message, “We have been advised by our legal team to follow state law. We have received letters from the WA AGO (attorney general office), WA OCR (office of civil rights), and OSPI (the state superintendent) that state our current rules comply and the proposed amendments would violate.
“We always follow our legal team’s advice. Schools have to make their own decisions based on the legal advice they receive and how that impacts their funding. It’s unfortunate that the WIAA and our schools are in a situation that federal and state law are in conflict.”
Material from The Seattle Times archives was included in this story.