The landscape of high school sports could change this fall if a recommendation by the New York State Education Department Board of Regents succeeds in mandating more coed offerings.
The proposed regulations “would provide student-athletes of all genders equal opportunities to participate in school athletic activities, as athletics are a vital part of any student’s education,” the Board of Regents said in a statement to The Buffalo News.
However, opponents of the proposed changes are ringing the alarm about potential adverse effects should the changes be adopted.
“The proposed amendments will remove the ability of a school district and/or section to determine if a male student-athlete will have a ‘significant adverse effect’ upon the participation opportunities of female student-athletes,” New York State Public High School Athletic Association Executive Director Dr. Robert J. Zayas said in a letter to the state education department.
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How sports could change
The Board of Regents wants to adopt amendments to sections 135.1, 135.4 and 135.5 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Mixed Competition and Extra Class Athletic Activities.
The amendments would create more opportunity for gender-neutral teams and remove gender identification wherever possible. The amendments also would provide recommendations on what to do when a high school only offers one-gender teams and has to allow members of another gender to try out.
These changes would allow boys to compete in traditionally girls sports like field hockey, flag football, softball and others should a boys team for the sport not be offered.
The proposed amendments also would mean changes to the health examinations, requirements for participation and opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities.
The amendments would eliminate the Tanner Sexual Maturity Rating, a test health care providers use to track the development of children during puberty, which NYSED labels as “intrusive and demeaning.” The NYSPHSAA is supportive of this change.
A 60-day public comment period began on May 22 for school districts and residents who want to voice their opinion on the matter to the secretary of the Board of Regents.
The proposed amendments will be presented at the September Regents meeting and, if adopted, would be effective Sept. 25.
“The proposed regulations will deliver objective, standardized decision-making processes across schools and regions to promote inclusivity and equity in interscholastic athletic programs,” the Board of Regents wrote in its statement.
NYSED began reviewing its guidance and participation after a complaint by Shira Mandelzis, a 2023 graduate of Riverdale High School in the Bronx.
In 2022, Mandelzis had to meet a number of requirements that were not required of her male counterparts to make the football team. She was required to pass the Presidential Physical Fitness tests, the Tanner test, submit a written statement of interest and receive a panel evaluation to determine her eligibility.
Some of the requirements Mandelzis had to meet were from NYSED’s recommendation on mixed competition.
Amendments to create gender-neutral opportunities and remove gender identification wherever possible would allow boys to compete in high school girls sports like field hockey.
Fair competition for females a concern
Zayas sent a multipage letter to NYSED Chancellor Lester W. Young and Commissioner Betty A. Rosa.
He wrote that the proposed amendment discards any control school districts and sections may have regarding male student-athletes affecting the opportunities of their female counterparts.
“The ability of schools to have local authority in these cases is important and critical to ensure the integrity of female participation is maintained. NYSPHSAA member schools aim to ensure female student-athletes are not displaced by allowing unrestricted access for all male student-athletes to try out for a team when a male equivalent sport is not offered.”
Added Zayas: “NYSPHSAA fully supports providing access in a less restrictive manner to female student-athletes to promote participation by the historically underrepresented gender in a fair competitive environment. NYSPHSAA also recognizes that combining genders for competition purposes should be done carefully and cautiously to avoid negatively impacting female the participation opportunities.”
NYSPHSAA recommends the adoption of an objective criterion for determining “significant adverse effect” for students and schools to use when a male is interested in participating on a female team.
As an example, Zayas pointed to Pennsylvania: “For more than a decade, Pennsylvania has successfully utilized specific criteria for determining when teams can be mixed gendered.”
A 2014 policy from the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association allows principals to determine when “a student’s gender is in question or uncertain.”
The Hempfield School District in Lancaster County, a member of the PIAA, adopted a policy in 2022 prohibiting transgender student-athletes from competing on teams that don’t correspond with their assigned gender at birth.
Section VI Executive Director Mark DiFilippo told The News, “Section VI is in full support of the statement made by NYSPHSAA and encourage students and parents express their thoughts in this public comment period.”
Push for ‘uniform selection’ questioned
NYSPHSAA also disagrees with NYSED’s “uniform team selection for all athletes,” which would require the team selection process to be posted on the district website if an equivalent boy or girl sport isn’t available.
It would be required if there’s no selection process used for participation in a sport, allowing all student-athletes to equally participate regardless of gender identification.
NYSPHSAA thinks mandating coaches to publicize the criteria for an athlete to make a team strips their capability to judge the indescribable.
The rule could make coaches and schools the focus of further condemnation than what they already experience.
“Providing selection criteria is going to subject the school district to additional parental criticism when students are not selected for the team,” Zayas wrote, noting that other school activities such as theater, band or debate do not have similar requirements for selection.
“NYSPHSAA recommends removing this requirement from the proposed amendments as school districts should continue to have the ability to employ coaches who can determine their team’s roster during an evaluation period.”
The executive board of the New York State Athletic Administrators Association sent a letter to NYSED opposing the suggestion to allow male student-athletes to compete in sports with no male offering.
“As participants in the October discussions regarding Mixed Competition and the subsequent approval by the Regents to allow males to participate in select female sports, the New York State Athletic Administrators Association is adamantly opposed and rightfully concerned about the potential physical, mental and liability implications for school districts, community members, families and specifically, female athletes,” NYSAAA wrote.
“These implications could include increased risk of injury, unfair competition and potential loss of opportunities in their respective sports.”
