Update: original version of this post had the meeting incorrectly listed as Oct 28.
On October 30 the legislative South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) Interim committee will meet once again. My post written prior to the August 20 meeting can be read here; that post provided a recap of legislative actions in regards to the transgender policy up to that point. The SDHSAA’s transgender policy remains the top focus of this committee.
Before looking at the agenda for the October 30 meeting it is worth looking at a few tidbits from the August 20 minutes
August 20 SDHSAA Interim Committee Meeting
In the meeting Ms. Roxanne Hammond, Legislative Attorney, listed various case-law in regards to transgender rights. She also cited Title IX:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
Title IX comes at the core of the issue for many proponents of the transgender policy from the SDHSAA. There is fear federal funds could be lost if such a policy is not implemented. It was not Title IX conformity that drove the policy though. In the meeting it was noted that a member school asked for guidance from the SDHSAA in 2013, and that began the process that lead to an eventual policy being implemented.
Sen Bill Van Gerpen (R, Dist 19) mentioned that neither state or federal law includes a definition of gender. That point is important because outside of the circles pushing for the transgender policy I don’t believe many people realize gender is different from sex.
Mr. John Krogstrand, Assistant Executive Director, SDHSAA, gave a presentation explaining the policies history. A part of the reason he gave for the policy is so that a student wasn’t treated as one gender during the school day, then a separate gender when participating in school activities away from the classroom. Along those lines, if the legislature does make a policy specific to the SDHSAA I also expect they will set a policy that the Board of Education must follow. Local control advocates may get nervous about such actions…
Rep Roger Hunt (R, Dist 25) presented a letter from the Family Heritage Alliance Action. The letter asked the SDHSAA to replace its transgender policy with the following:
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.
A version of that paragraph will likely become the legislation pushed in 2016. A motion was made and passed for the LRC to draft legislation based upon the above paragraph for the next committee meeting.
There was also an attempt to have legislation made that would put the SDHSAA under legislative rule making authority. That failed, but I think an individual legislator is likely to bring a bill of their own in 2016. The SDHSAA is an odd organization. It was created via codified law, but is voluntary and it is questionable whether it really answers to the legislature. There are times however the legislature has passed laws specifically for the SDHSAA to follow.
October 30 interim committee meeting
The agenda for this meeting is quite small and it doesn’t look like the meeting should last very long. But there are two pieces of draft legislation the LRC has ready for the meeting.
Here is the draft legislation based upon the Family Heritage Alliance Action letter:
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to define gender for the purpose of participation in high school activities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That chapter 13-36 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as follows:
For purposes of participation in any activity sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association, or any other entity granted authority under chapter 13-36, the sole determinant of a student’s sexual identity is his or her gender. His or her gender is defined by the physical condition of being male or female, determined at conception, identified at birth by the student’s anatomy, and recorded on the student’s official birth certificate.
The other draft legislation would define gender in state law:
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to define gender for the purpose of any gender-specific determination.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. If the determination of a person’s gender is deemed necessary, gender is the physical condition of being male or female, determined at conception, identified by the person’s anatomy, and recorded on the person’s official birth certificate.
It should be interesting to watch the debate over gender vs sex in Pierre this next session.
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