Broad transgender policy vote fails

A pair of policies that would have required transgender people to define their gender by the anatomy listed on their birth certificate failed in a committee vote Friday.

On a 6-5 vote, the South Dakota High School Activities Association Interim Committee moved not to advance a measure that would have required transgender high school athletes to sign up for activities based on the anatomical sex listed on their birth certificate. And on a 4-7 vote the committee killed a policy that would require broadly that people define their gender by the sex listed on their birth certificate.

Currently, transgender students who want to join a sex-specific team or activity must submit a request to the association as well as documents that affirm their gender identity and ensure they aren't identifying with a certain gender with a purpose of “gaining an unfair competitive advantage.”

The South Dakota High School Activities Association drafted the transgender policy last year after looking at approaches in other states. No specific case prompted the policy.

Fourteen other states and Washington, D.C., have policies similar to South Dakota’s on the books.

But legislators in the meeting indicated they would consider bringing variations of the bills during legislative session in January.

Rep. Tim Rounds, R-Pierre, voted against both measures but said he liked the more broad policy and would consider bringing it up again.

And both Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, and Rep. Jim Bolin, R-Canton, supported both bills and said advancing them would reaffirm the importance of state documents.

"I have a problem in suddenly saying we can ignore the content of a particular document because we have to do everything possible to protect the minority," Hunt said. "When are we going to protect the majority?"

Heather Smith, executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, applauded the committee's decision in a statement Friday.

“This decision reaffirms the idea that politicians shouldn’t meddle in decisions that belong to teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, principals and parents," Smith said. "That is also the decision that is in keeping with the law and principles enshrined in the Constitution.”

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