A major policy shift by the Virginia High School League (VHSL) could impact how Arlington Public Schools approaches transgender athletes.
VHSL announced this week that it will follow an executive order from President Donald Trump that attempts to ban students born male from competing on girls teams, threatening financial sanctions if schools don’t comply.
The change could put APS in a quandary, caught between school leaders’ support for transgender students on the one hand and, on the other, an existing school-system policy requiring APS to comply with VHSL policies.
Neither an APS spokesperson nor an official with oversight of athletics responded to a request for comment by publication time. The school division was closed today (Wednesday) due to inclement weather.
School Board members are scheduled to hold their next public meeting tomorrow (Thursday), weather permitting. Nothing related to the VHSL decision currently is on the published agenda, but the matter could be discussed during the time set aside for remarks by Board members or the superintendent.
It could also be brought up during the meeting’s public comment period.
Several APS varsity coaches offered guarded responses when ARLnow asked them about their thoughts on the subject.
“The issue has been talked about off and on, informally, by our coaches and players,” said one coach, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. “But otherwise for our team, it hasn’t come up yet. If it does, we would follow the policy of the governing body in charge of Arlington schools.”
“If that situation had come up, and it didn’t for our team, I guess we would have handled it on an individual basis with input from others at the school and county,” another said.
“There are a lot of opinions on this subject,” a third coach told ARLnow. “So it’s probably a good thing to have one policy and clarity to follow.”
At the Feb. 5 meeting of the Arlington County Democratic Committee, new-in-2025 School Board members Kathleen Clark and Zuraya Tapia-Hadley told party members their goal is to protect students from the impacts of changes in federal policy.
Tapia-Hadley did not directly discuss transgender students but said the all-Democratic School Board would be “fighting for our kids every day.”
A questionnaire from the parent group Arlington Gender Identity Allies touched on this topic last year. It asked School Board candidates whether they would support the current APS policy around transgender students “regardless of any anti-trans policies enacted by the [Department of Education].”
Both Clark and Tapia-Hadley said they would.
The school system’s relevant policy-implementation procedure (PIP) on this issue says:
“Students may participate in any co-curricular or extra-curricular activity consistent with their gender identity. Athletic participation regulated by the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association (VASRA), as well middle school athletics, shall be in compliance with rules outlined by that organization. Any uniform required for participation in a co-curricular or extra-curricular activity, including athletics, shall include options that are gender neutral. Awards designated by Arlington Public Schools for participation in any such activity will also be gender neutral.”
For several years, VHSL policies permitted transgender athletes to compete in certain defined circumstances. In a public statement after the executive order was issued, VHSL officials said they would “immediately propose policy changes” to comply with it.
Trump’s executive order threatens to cut off federal financial aid from any school or college/university that fails to comply. It cites Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 as the basis for its legitimacy, but like many of the policy directives implemented by the Trump administration in its first weeks, a lengthy court battle is possible.
The Virginia High School League represents more than 300 schools and 175,000 students who compete in athletic and academic competitions. Though not part of the state government, it effectively serves as a governing body for extracurricular activities in Virginia public schools.
The organization’s position switch came after the NCAA, the governing body for college athletics, also adjusted its policies in reaction to the executive order.
In addition to addressing school sports, Trump’s executive order directs schools to “take all appropriate action to affirmatively protect … all-female locker rooms.”
The current APS policy allowing people to use locker rooms consistent with their gender identity has been subject to significant debate in recent weeks.
