Leominster (Mass.,) School District announced this week that it will consider a new policy allowing students, teams and coaches to refuse to compete against an opposing team that includes a student-athlete of the opposite sex. Now, students are speaking out against the policy, saying it targets transgender student-athletes.
The school committee meeting first heard the policy in its December meeting. When the committee meets again in January, they will allow the public to weigh in before voting on the policy. Under the new policy, the district would not penalize teams for forfeiting against competitors with student-athletes of the opposite sex. That means it would not count against the team’s record or state championship chances.
According to CBS News Boston, Ren Patel, a senior at Leominster High School, said, “I believe it's unfair because it gives people the opportunity to in a sense, discriminate based on someone else's sex, saying I don't want to play against you because your of opposite sex.”
Patel is creating a petition against the policy and encouraging her fellow students to sign it. She’s making it her mission to bring awareness to the student body about the vote, so they can speak out at the next school committee meeting in January.
“I think it's dangerous to have a policy like this in place it very clearly targets transgender people," said Patel.
While Patel represents a student body that may not be in favor of the policy, the members of the school committee aren’t quite as opposed. Mayor and chair of the school committee Dean Mazzarella said, “It's more important that everybody takes a look at this from all vantage points. In the end do what's best for students.”
Currently included in the district’s policy manual is an entry titled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex.” If the new policy regarding opposite-sex sports competition is voted in, it could create a domino effect of revising former policies.
The January school committee meeting will be held on Jan. 6 both in person and virtually for guardians to attend.
