The Abridged version:
- Tahoe-Truckee Unified student athletes have competed in Nevada for decades but will move play to California, following the Silver State’s new restrictions on transgender athletes.
- Parents in the district have raised concerns about the move, including winter travel risks and soccer’s fall-to-winter season shift.
- Community members will have a chance to comment at the school board’s Dec. 17 meeting, though the district has reiterated that the order the California Department of Education’s issued last week is legally binding.
Student athletes in the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District are anticipating travel risks and other logistical hurdles, following new orders from the California Department of Education.
The eastern slope foothill district has competed in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association for 40 years, as teams could more easily head east in the wintertime.
Certain sport seasons also vary by state — in Nevada, soccer teams face off in the fall, while California athletes meet on the pitch during winter.
But in a message to families Wednesday, Tahoe-Truckee Unified said they are being mandated to join the California Interscholastic Federation, amid conflict between the two states over transgender athletes.
The district’s athletic programs will move to California starting next school year.
Nevada policy versus California law
Nevada’s governing body over high school sports moved in April to require athletes to compete based on the sex on their birth certificate.
The new policy conflicts with California law protecting students’ gender identity.
Tahoe-Truckee Unified first announced they would be moving affiliations in May to comply with state law.
“There’s a lot of emotions and feelings that everyone has,” Superintendent Kerstin Kramer said during a May 7 board meeting. “I just wanted to acknowledge that this was a difficult announcement for the community, and I recognize that.”
Following multiple board meetings and a flood of public backlash, trustees moved on June 27 to keep the athletics programs in Nevada for the time being.
Tahoe-Truckee teams compete against schools in both California and Nevada. This fall, the football program played more than half its games against schools in Nevada.
Tahoe-Truckee faces ‘binding’ directive
The California Department of Education stepped in, after receiving a formal complaint days after the Tahoe-Truckee Unified board’s decision.
“By refusing to leave the (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association), TTUSD is undermining the rights of transgender students and violating the very legal and ethical obligations
that safeguard students in our state,” the complainant wrote, according to an education department investigations report in September.
The investigation determined that by staying in the Nevada sports association, Tahoe-Truckee Unified would be in violation of California education code.
The district appealed the decision, according to their most recent message this week, but was denied.
“The decision is no longer within the TTUSD’s local control,” the notice read. “We are legally required to follow this CDE order.”
Three other California districts — Lake Tahoe Unified, Eastern Sierra Unified and Needles Unified — compete in Nevada, but it remains unclear whether the department’s Tahoe-Truckee decision will affect them.
Pros and cons of the move
Superintendent Kramer will provide an update during the district’s next board meeting Dec. 17, where members of the public will also have an opportunity to share comments.
Many parents raised a variety of concerns during the series of meetings this spring and summer, including risks of travel over Donner Summit to play California schools in the winter.
The shift from a fall to winter season for soccer teams has been described as one of the biggest shocks to the community.
“We just need a miracle for soccer,” Kramer said in May, when the board was originally considering the affiliation move.
But, at the time, she said the change also comes with a list of pros, including a higher profile postseason opportunities and less missed school due to overnight trips to places like Winnemucca or Battle Mountain.
Savannah Kuchar is a reporter covering education. She came to Sacramento to be a part of the Abridged team and contribute to a crucial local news source.