Washington school board pres: Allowing boys in girls sports is exclusive
Kennewick School Board president Gabe Galbraith spoke to Fox News Digital about his districts resolution calling for the protection of girls sports.
A Washington school board president is hoping to inspire schools to take a stand on behalf of girls’ sports.
"The one thing that people say, a lot of times, is that they argue that including, I guess, boys or men in women's sports, that's really inclusive. But the fact is it's exclusive. Because we're excluding girls and women now," Gabe Galbraith, who leads the Kennewick School Board, told Fox News Digital.
The school district recently passed a resolution that affirmed the board’s stance that biological males should not compete with biological females in sports.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association does not require high school athletes to take part in hormone treatments to play female sports. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Photo by Swen Pförtner/picture alliance via Getty Images)
"NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Kennewick School District Board of Directors strongly supports fairness in competition and student safety; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Kennewick School District Board of Directors strongly affirms that ‘sex’ is defined as biological male or biological female as determined at birth, and is an immutable characteristic that cannot be changed, fluid, or altered," the resolution read.
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It continued, "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Kennewick School District Board of Directors strongly affirms that biological males should not participate in biological females’ sports and inherent biological differences and abilities exist between biological males and biological females and commits to protecting female sports."
The resolution, which passed in June, followed a transgender runner winning the girls’ 400-meter sprint at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) state track and field meet.
Although the idea for the resolution came after President Biden’s Title IX revisions back in April, Galbraith acknowledged the track meet influenced the timing of its release.
Gabe Galbraith criticized claims that allowing biological males in girls' sports is inclusive. (Fox News Digital | Photo by Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
"We have too many people just kind of sitting on the sidelines and not voicing their concerns. So we decided we were going to take a stand. We came up with this resolution, and we passed it at our local school board meeting, just this last week. We're the first board in Washington state to take a stand against this. Hopefully, we can get a bunch of the other school boards on this resolution and maybe affect some change in the state," Galbraith said.
He revealed that they have since received support from locals as well as city council members after the resolution passed. Galbraith also hoped that this resolution "opens the door for others to kind of jump in and follow along" to inspire real change.
"They tell us it's never going to happen in your state. It'll never happen. And then it happens. And then we were able to come out and stand up against it with our resolution, which effectively is just our board saying that we don't support it. We have to try to work with our legislators and stuff to affect some change to figure out what the next step is," Galbraith said.
The Kennewick School Board passed a resolution that affirmed protections for girls' sports in June. (Google Earth screenshot)
According to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) policy, every athlete will compete in programs "consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed." However, the association does not require athletes to take part in hormone therapy or use hormone blockers.
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