PIAA faces criticism from all sides after changing transgender athlete policy

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, March 6, 2025 | 8:40 PM

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The PIAA is drawing criticism from all sides for changes made to its transgender athlete policy.

The changes didn’t go far enough, says one Western Pennsylvania superintendent, who wanted to see the state high school athletic association adopt the NCAA’s stricter policy. Yet LGBTQ+ advocacy groups say the PIAA and its member schools are violating state and federal laws by following a presidential order banning transgender athletes from girls sports.

Adding to the uncertainty, the state’s largest school district indicated it might not adhere to the order.

“We haven’t had a chance to fully review the correspondence we received today,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said Thursday in an email declining comment.

Last month, the PIAA board eliminated its one-sentence transgender athlete policy and changed language in its handbook to no longer ask member schools to determine those students’ “gender” but rather their “sex.”

Those edits were made to comply with an executive order signed Feb. 5 by President Donald Trump, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

A letter sent to the PIAA on Thursday by the Women’s Law Project and six other like-minded organizations said the PIAA decision “misconstrues the force of executive orders and ignores clear federal and state legal protections” for transgender students.

The letter, signed also by the Education Law Center and the ACLU of Pennsylvania, among others, said an executive order does not carry the weight of a law and does not supersede federal or state laws.

“Any school district that changes its policies or implements new policies to discriminate against transgender students in interscholastic athletics based solely on their gender identity in accordance with PIAA’s statement and Board actions runs the risk of legal challenge for these policies,” the letter said.

The PIAA board voted Feb. 19 to edit its handbook and delete the only reference to transgender athletes.

Elsewhere in the PIAA handbook, language was updated to say: “Where a student’s sex is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the school as to the student’s sex will be accepted by PIAA. In accordance with the Presidential Executive Order 14201 … schools are required to consult with their school solicitors relative to compliance with the Order.”

Laurel superintendent Len Rich, an advocate for girls sports, said the PIAA didn’t do enough to adhere to the executive order. He pointed to a newly enacted NCAA policy that “limits competition in women’s sports to student-athletes assigned female at birth only.”

Because the PIAA policy lets each school decide independently, approaches could vary.

“The president was very clear: Sex is determined at birth,” Rich said. “Anything that the PIAA did should have started with ‘sex is determined at birth’ and gone from there. Whether you agree or disagree, it was clear in what (the president) said. The PIAA, in my mind, really tried to duck and weave.”

Rich sent a letter Monday to the PIAA.

The Laurel school board implemented its own policy two years ago that limited girls sports at its facilities to individuals “with XX chromosomes.” Rich said the PIAA, as the state’s governing body for interscholastic sports, should’ve taken a stronger stance as well.

“Look what the NCAA did,” he said. “Is there any lack of clarity? Why did the PIAA not follow the NCAA?”

The executive order directed federal agencies to prioritize Title IX enforcement against “educational institutions” and “athletic associations” that let transgender athletes compete in girls or women’s sports.

After the PIAA board met last month, Lombardi noted that the PIAA does not receive federal funding. Many of its schools receive funding, but not all.

“What if you have a private school that’s not religiously affiliated and perhaps more progressive?” said Rich, the superintendent at Laurel. “They might say they’ll accept whatever the student says is their sex or gender. Then we’re right back to where we were.”

Lombardi declined last month to speculate.

“We will handle that as it comes forward,” he said. “I don’t want to get too much into a ‘what if.’ ”

Unlike some other states, the PIAA never adopted its own policy for determining gender, instead relying on school principals to decide. The PIAA approach faced increased scrutiny two years ago when the state track and field championships included a transgender girl on the medal stand for the first time.

Philadelphia public schools, the largest district in the state, adopted a transgender policy in 2016 that resolves athletics questions on “a case-by-case basis.” The school district issued a statement last week reinforcing its established approach after the PIAA changed its policy.

“(The district) strives to ensure safety, equity and justice for all students regardless of gender identity or gender expression so that they can imagine and realize any future they desire,” the School District of Philadelphia said. “The District will continue to align its practices to support its LGBTQ+ students in accordance with Board Policy 252 for transgender and gender non-conforming students.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.