Kearney Public Leads the Way

on "Sports and Spaces"

by Sue Greenwald, M.D.

Nebraska Senator Kathleen Kauth introduced LB 575, “The Sports and Spaces Act” to the 2023 Nebraska Legislature. For students in elementary through high school, the bill protects girls’ sports, locker rooms and private spaces, keeping them exclusive to biological females. Given the fact that it had 28 co-sponsors in a 49 person legislature, and a good number of those were on Senator Murman’s Education committee, where the bill was debated and the public hearing occurred, it seemed like a slam dunk. Senator Clements made it his priority bill. Then it became a victim of the filibuster. Holding “Sports and Spaces Act” in the committee until next year was the best option given the circumstances. Now, there are promises to carry it over to the 2024 session.

This is unwelcome news for many school districts who were seeking cover from the state to protect their female athletes. The threat to girls’ and womens’ athletics from males identifying as female has been well documented. HERE is a recap.

Kearney Public Schools Superintendent Mr. Jason Mundorf expressed the need for a policy. To paraphrase Mr. Mundorf, he felt the issue was bound to come up at some point, and without a policy, the district could be caught in a firestorm. Mundorf, along with School Board President Drew Blessing, put the issue on the agenda for the March 6 meeting. The public was apprised and they showed up. There have been estimates that attendance was in the hundreds, but no one has an accurate count of how many people were present. Suffice it to say it was an overflow crowd. Comments heard among the attendees had a common thread: “I have never done anything political before, but I had to come because (fill in the blank).”

There were 44 public comments in favor of having a policy to protect girls’ sports in grades 6-12. There were 3 public comments opposed.

2 options were being debated. The first option was amended to:

“Participation in athletics at the 6-12 grade levels will be restricted to a student's biological sex, at birth as stated on the student's original birth certificate or subsequent court order. With that being said, any student (regardless of their birth sex) may participate in any extracurricular activity (including in after-school clubs) that allows both boys and girls to participate.”

The second option relied upon NSAA guidelines.

“Transgender student participation in grades 9-12 will be guided by NSAA policies as outlined in Appendix 4, of the NSAA Constitution, Gender Participation Policy, pgs. 35-38, as it existed on the date of adoption of this policy. To maintain consistency with NSAA eligibility guidelines, participation in athletics at the 6-8 grade level will be restricted to a student's biological sex at birth as stated on the student's original birth certificate or subsequent court order. Girls may participate on boys’ teams when there is no girls team offered in that sport by the school. Boys are not allowed to participate on girls’ teams even when there is no corresponding boys sport. Activities or clubs that allow participation by both boys and girls will remain open for all interested students.”

The public comment speakers were breaking for option one.

It was moved by Paul Hazard and seconded by Steve Gaasch to adopt option 1, and discussion ensued.

For details, see the Kearney Public School Board minutes HERE. It was the March 6, 2023 meeting.

Some of the board members seemed to be caught off-guard and wanted to table the issue. You can read the entire discussion (linked above) but these were the salient points:

The NSAA has convoluted guidelines for transgender students to compete in high school athletics. They involve doctor verification, documentation of hormone treatment, tests of bone structure, muscle mass and testosterone levels. They are also subject to change at any time. The guidelines apply only to high school athletes.

Several members commented about the need for a consistent policy between middle school and high school. Option 2 would not provide that.

Comments were made regarding the fact that Kearney Schools provide many extra-curricular activities to students they are not required to provide. Not all school districts are able to do that. Participation in competitive athletics is out of reach for many students for a variety of reasons. Transgender students are making a choice that will have consequences just as any other choice in life.

Several mentions were made that all students deserve respect and consideration, but policy will need to be directed to the majority.

Several board members mentioned they have daughters. They also took note of the overwhelming direction provided by the community.

The vote was 4 to 2 to advance policy option 1, with a final vote to be taken at the next meeting. At the April meeting, the policy was placed on the consent agenda and was passed unanimously.

Kearney’s official policy is pictured above.

The moral of the story is this: while waiting for the state to codify a policy protective of Title IX, school districts can do it for themselves. The Kearney Public Schools Superintendent and School Board have set the example.

The auther is a retired Kearney Pediatrician and co-founder of Protect Nebraska Children Coalition.