Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association's rule change for transgender athletes 'unnecessary and unlawful,' advocates say

Kristen A. Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 6, 2025

Published in News & Features

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PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s interscholastic athletic group’s revised position on transgender athletes is “unnecessary and unlawful,” advocates say.

Several groups, including the Women’s Law Project, Education Law Center, ACLU of Pennsylvania and Planned Parenthood Association of Pennsylvania have signaled they will “work to defend” transgender athletes as President Donald Trump seeks to ban them from participating in sports that match their gender identities.

Asked if the groups would move to challenge PIAA in court, Tara Murtha, a spokesperson for the Women’s Law Project, said they were “keeping a close eye on the situation.”

Kristina Moon, a lawyer with the Education Law Center, said the nonprofit is also watching closely, and she “urges impacted students to contact our Helpline to learn about their rights.”

But for now, they sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and its board of directors saying the agency’s revised policy is misguided.

PIAA in late February changed its transgender athlete policy in response to an executive order issued by Trump, who campaigned on attacking trans athletes.

In the past, PIAA regulations said that “where a student’s gender is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the Principal as to the student’s gender will be accepted by PIAA.” Any references to gender have been removed, replaced with sex; the new policy also changed principal to school.

PIAA also directed schools to check with their solicitors to ensure compliance with Trump’s executive order.

PIAA did not immediately answer a request for comment Thursday. But Lyndsay Barna, assistant executive director, has said that the organization believes that the president’s order “is binding to all PIAA member schools that accept federal funding. The board is following the order.”

Elizabeth Lester-Abdalla, the Women’s Law Project staff attorney who wrote the letter, said the actions “evoke confusion and fear.”

“The PIAA’s recent policy changes are both unnecessary and unlawful,” Lester-Abdalla said in a statement. “I want to assure transgender and gender-expansive students, their families, and the people who love them that they are still legally protected under state and federal law. Transgender Pennsylvanians have legal rights that fear-mongering rhetoric alone cannot take away, and we will work to defend them.”

Title IX, the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions and Pennsylvania Human Relations Act spell out protections for transgender people, Lester-Abdalla said.

“As our letter makes clear, the president’s executive order does not have the force of law or supersede state or federal law,” Education Law Center senior attorney Kristina Moon. “PIAA should be aligning its policies with the law and protecting trans students against discrimination — not scapegoating students who just want to be able to attend school, be themselves, and participate fully in school activities like everybody else.”

The action comes as a Quakertown Community High School student pursues a lawsuit against the Colonial School District and PIAA over a transgender Plymouth Whitemarsh High School student being permitted to compete at cross country and track meets.

Earlier this year, Holly Magalengo, the parent of the Quakertown student, said her daughter’s constitutional rights were violated by being forced to compete against the transgender student. Her daughter finished second behind the transgender athlete, whom she told, “You are not a girl. You should not be racing against girls.”

A federal judge this week denied the Quakertown student’s request for a restraining order barring transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports.

Colonial’s lawyers defended their policy permitting transgender athletes to participate in sports that match their “authentic gender identity.”

The Philadelphia School District has also indicated it will ignore PIAA’s rule change and will continue allowing students to compete in the sports that match their gender identities.

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