“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” — American Patriot, Patrick Henry
The South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) has adopted a transgender policy that we find highly objectionable. We worked with the legislature to pass a bill that would have voided that policy. Sadly, the bill failed, leaving that transgender policy in place. Since then we have been working with the SDHSAA board urging them to void the policy. They will soon make a decision. It is imperative that you contact the SDHSAA board members and respectfully urge them to void the transgender policy and allow local school districts to deal with the issue as it may arise.
For more information, read the article on page 2 of our South Dakota Spring Newsletter here.
Our message is clear: VOID THE POLICY! If they must replace it, we have a suggested policy they could consider. (See suggested replacement policy below.)
So what can you do?
- Pray that God will direct the board members to void the policy. We want all children’s safety, innocence and privacy to be upheld.
- Contact the SDHSAA board members (www.sdhsaa.com) and respectfully urge them to void the transgender policy. Click here to access the board members’ e-mail addresses.
- Pass this information on to others and urge them to pray and take action as well.
Talking Points
- The policy adopted by the SDHSAA would allow, for example, a boy who feels like a girl to play on the girls team, share restroom and shower room facilities, motels for on-the-road activities, etc. This is a violation of safety and privacy.
- The student’s government-issued birth certificate should be the sole determinant for the child’s sex. Currently, a student may not participate in school sports beyond their 20th birthday, which is determined by their birth certificate. This creates a double standard.
- Children with gender dysphoria need compassionate counseling, not enabling or affirmation.
- Discrimination action would result in “sensitivity training.”
- There is no federal or state law that requires a transgender policy.
- The so-called religious exemption is faulty and could create a lawsuit if a faith-based school forfeited a game because of religious tenets.
Our Suggested Replacement Policy
For purposes of participation in athletics sanctioned by the SDHSAA the sole determinant of a student’s sexual identity is the student’s sex. The student’s sex is defined as the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined at conception, identified at birth by a person’s anatomy, and recorded on their official birth certificate.