Following a lengthy period of public engagement and deliberation, School District 49’s board of education voted to approve a new policy that will bar students from participation in school sports based on their biological sex during their regular meeting Thursday night.

Policy JBA, “Preserving Fairness and Safety in Sports,” designates the D-49’s athletic teams or sports as “male, men or boys,” “female, women, or girls” or “coed, mixed, or open.” These designations bar students of one biological sex from participating on the teams, entering the locker rooms and lodging in hotels with students of the other sex.

The meeting was well attended, and several expressed views both in favor of and opposed to the policy during its public comment portion. Arguments for and against the proposed policy repeated many points stated by board members.

Board members Jamilynn D’Avola, Lori Thompson and Deb Shmidt supported the policy, believing that it would maintain the fairness in school athletics for biological females by barring transgender females due to physical advantages.

Conversely, board members Mike Heil and Marie La Vere-Wright argued that the policy did not consider the physical advantages transgender males with hormonal therapy would have over biological females under this policy.

Heil added that, because of the relatively small amount of athletes that this would apply to, that the policy be revised to consider the circumstances on an individual student basis. He added that this suggestion received support from local LGBTQ+ support groups.

This revision wasn’t considered and the board voted 3-2 to pass the new policy, with Heil and La Vere-Wright opposing it.

Kelly Loving Act Resolution

Immediately following the decision, the board voted to register a formal position opposing HB25-1312, which passed the state Senate on Tuesday.

Known as the Kelly Loving Act, the bill establishes several legal protections for transgender individuals related to discriminatory actions, education standards and identity documents. It also expands the definition of gender expression to include chosen name and how an individual chooses to be addressed.

Governor Jared Polis has yet to sign the bill into law.  

The reason for the action, proposed by board vice president D’Avola, was to preserve local control and honor the role of parents for their children’s education in the district. 

The resolution comes on the heels of a letter penned by Colorado Springs D-11 board member Jason Jorgenson requesting that lawmakers oppose the bill. In his letter, he raised the points expressed by the D-49 board members saying the bill would undermine local control and parental rights and also create ambiguity and compliance challenges for schools.

“Implementing chosen-name policies across diverse school systems may conflict with existing record-keeping standards or parental notification policies, creating confusion for educators and administrators,” Jorgenson wrote.

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“Furthermore, the prohibition on gender-specific dress codes may limit schools’ ability to maintain clear and equitable standards for student conduct and attire.”

The letter was co-signed by nearly 100 other school board members and administrators from local districts including D-49, D-11, Academy D-20, Widefield D-3 and Pueblo D-70 and the Classical Academy, James Irwin,  Colorado Military Academy, Merit Academy, The Vanguard and Liberty Tree Academy charter schools.

These arguments echo points made by many of the same local school district representatives when state law required them to develop a policy honoring students’ chosen names at their public schools upon request.

Ahead of the vote, La Vere-Wright expressed frustration that the action item was a late addition to the agenda and that she was not notified of its addition. As such, she felt that she wasn’t sufficiently familiar with the bill and its language to vote on it one way or another.

She added that this was not the first time she wasn’t notified of a late addition to an agenda, while Heil said that he also did not receive the update leading up to the meeting.

“At this point, it’s a lack of respect, okay?” La Vere-Wright said.

To that point, D’Avola said there was increased urgency to present and pass the resolution since the bill awaits the governor’s signature or veto.

The action item would ultimately get passed 3-2, with Heil and La Vere-Wright opposing it.  

This story will be updated.