Allowing high-school students to participate in competitions as a gender they identify with has been Connecticut’s policy for a while now. There has been a lot of praise for this decision, but it appears that it is starting to spark some controversies as well.
The federal Office for Civil Rights is investigating the issue reported by the families of three girls from Hartford. They claim that they have been discriminated on the track by having to compete with two fellow athletes who are, in fact, male.
They are claiming that the violation of Title IX is at hand. It is a federal law that should ensure equal opportunities for female athletes.
On the other hand, the Connecticut Association of Schools-CT Interscholastic Athletic Conference stated that they abide by the CT anti-discrimination law. According to this legislation, the schools are obliged to treat the students as the gender they identify with.
Connecticut is in the community of 17 states in which the transgender students are allowed to train and compete without their birth gender restrictions. However, the number of issues surfaced regarding the implementation of these anti-discriminatory laws. The process seems to be a work in progress, and this investigation may be crucial to finding the best solution.
