LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – On Tuesday, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s (NIAA) Board of Control quietly made a decision to only allow women athletes to compete if they provide a birth certificate and a physician to check off a box saying the athlete is “medically eligible for women’s sports.” It’s a move that targets transgender athletes and contradicts the policies of South Tahoe High School, North Tahoe High School, and Truckee High School, leaving those schools to decide how they will respond to the ruling.

Due to the distance from other California competitors, the three Californian schools in Tahoe compete within the NIAA. But because they’re essentially guests in Nevada, they have no representation on the Board of Control.

The decision was cheered by Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony in a press release that said the decision marked “a significant step forward in protecting the integrity, safety, and fairness of girls’ athletics in Nevada.”

“Let me be clear, there is a place for everyone in sports. But no one is entitled to a position that takes an opportunity away from someone else,” said Anthony in the press release. “[This] vote is a win for girls across Nevada.”

According to National Collegiate Athletics Association President Charlie Barker, there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes who are currently competing in college sports. And in Nevada, In the nine years under the previous policy, “there never had a level two appeal in regards to a transgender student,” according to Paul Anderson, NIAA legal counsel.

In discussing their decision, NIAA executive director Tim Jackson said, “We have a federal law in place, and I do not think it would behoove us as a body to willfully violate a federal law.”

However, President Trump’s executive order “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” from February 5 has not officially been made law.

The NIAA’s previous policies allowed trans students to compete, but starting in fall of 2025, the adjusted policy now requires an unaltered birth certificate to be presented at their physical, which could pose problems not just for transgender students, but undocumented students as well—something that the NIAA will be considering during its emergency meeting in May.

In their official statement, released on Wednesday morning, the NIAA said, “The 2023 Equal Rights Amendment to the Nevada Constitution prevents the denial of equal rights on account of sex or gender identity or expression… However, due to sex-linked differences in physical development and athletic performance only sex, and not gender identity or expression, can be considered a relevant characteristic for eligibility on a girls’ or women’s team or sanctioned sports.”

Silver State Equality, Nevada’s LGBTQ civil rights organization, responded with a press release. State Director André C. Wade said, “This policy is not only harmful and exclusionary—it is unconstitutional. Nevada’s Equal Rights Amendment, passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2022, explicitly protects individuals from discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression. This change directly contradicts those constitutional protections.”

Wade continued, “The policy imposes discriminatory scrutiny on female athletes, subjecting them to invasive physical exams by a physician—standards not applied to their male counterparts. This not only reinforces harmful gender stereotypes but raises serious concerns about privacy, equity, and bodily autonomy. It also requires an “unaltered original birth certificate” to determine a student athlete’s gender. This places an unfair burden on Nevada’s immigrant families and those without easy access to original documents.”

For California, which has state laws and policies protecting transgender students, the decision comes into direct conflict—especially with the policies of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) and Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD).

“It’s important to clarify that TTUSD, as a California school district, operates under the California Education Code. While we value our partnership with the NIAA and our participation in Nevada interscholastic athletics, we are ultimately bound by California state law. This creates a complex situation, given California and Nevada’s differing responses to federal mandates,” said Amber Burke, TTUSD coordinator of district communications and parent engagement.

Burke continued, “Our priority is to ensure that all of our student-athletes can continue participating and competing in interscholastic programs. We are committed to exploring all available options to maintain access to competitive athletics.”

South Tahoe High School athletics director Kevin Hennessee was shocked to learn about the decision, but committed to advocating for all students, including trans students. “We’re trying to foster a community that’s inclusive to all our students and providing as many opportunities as we can for our kids to participate,” said Hennessee. “No matter what, as South Tahoe High School, as LTUSD, we’re going to keep advocating for our students, parents, and partners to feel empowered to be who they want to be.”

The ALLY Club at South Tahoe High School also responded, in line with their protest against District 3 Rep. Kevin Kiley’s stance to bar trans athletes from participation in the name of protecting girls in sports.

“I find it ridiculous that the government is so concerned about what’s between your legs,” said senior Mya Myers. “As far as I’m concerned, if we’re on a team together—that’s my teammate. I’m not going to feel unsafe around them.”

Quinn Douglas, ALLY Club vice president, has been advocating for a trans athlete at the high school who was told they shouldn’t be on a team. “This actually affects people here. And while I’ve been in meetings with Principal [Justin] Zunino and it feels like the school is on our side, the fact that [Nevada] isn’t on our side makes things feel hopeless.”

Other members said they’d participated in sports and were never concerned about the assigned sex at birth of teammates or competitors. “If they’re concerned about girls’ safety, they should be doing more background checks on coaches and making sure that girls can get to practice without getting shot in a school shooting,” said one student.

Schools are still waiting to see what actions they can meaningfully take. One possible option is to start competing in California again, which would mark a change from the past few decades that these schools have been competing in Nevada. However, until the meeting in May, no concrete action for the upcoming scholastic year can be taken.

“I’ve got a mission to advocate for our student athletes, which has been my goal since I started here,” said Hennessee. “I’m going to go to bat for them as best as I can, until someone says ‘no’—or finally gives in and says ‘yes.'”

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.