After several hours of impassioned testimony, board member clashes and tense public outbursts, the Capistrano Unified School District board approved a resolution calling for “fairness in girls’ sports” by opposing the participation of transgender athletes in women’s athletic competitions.
The 4-2-1 vote on Wednesday, May 21, comes amid a broader debate that has increasingly played out in school board chambers across the region and country. Capistrano Unified, the largest district in Orange County, is believed to be the first OC district to adopt such a resolution.
It calls on governing bodies, including the California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, to ensure fairness in girls’ sports. Specifically, it:
• Asserts that biological differences between male and female athletes can create inherent advantages in competitive sports.
• Expresses concern that allowing transgender girls to compete in cisgender girls’ categories may compromise fairness, safety and equal opportunity.
• Directs district staff to send copies to Gov. Gavin Newsom, the state legislature, the California Department of Education and CIF to “demonstrate CUSD’s commitment to protecting female student athletes.”
Supporters of the resolution, including several student athletes in the district, argued the resolution was about preserving opportunities, safety and fairness for girls in sports.
“As a high school athlete, I would never have been able to compete against my male friends in any sport I participated in. We’re simply made different. We should not expect our girls to compete against biological boys,” said Trustee Lisa Davis, who backed the resolution. “This isn’t fairness. This is favoritism toward ideology over biology.”
Trustee Lisa Zollinger said every child, regardless of their gender identity, deserves to feel safe and valued at school, yet at the same time, she recognizes the importance of fairness and protecting Title IX, a federal civil rights law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.
“I wish as a district we could come up with some type of a solution for these kids that want to play sports. I would love to have a league for trans kids, or have something that we could do,” Zollinger said. “I want to support and love all these kids, but we have to get back to fairness and safety.”
Opponents said the resolution was unnecessary, divisive and harmful, especially in a district where, according to trustees and confirmed by a district spokesperson, no transgender students are currently participating in athletics and no formal complaints have been filed.
“This harms connectedness for some kids,” Trustee Gila Jones said, urging her colleagues to delay the vote and instead workshop the topic in a more collaborative setting. “Contentiousness on the board doesn’t move the needle for kids.”
The resolution, officially titled “Supporting Title IX and Fairness in Girls’ Interscholastic Sports,” reflects a national flashpoint fueled by President Donald Trump, who repeatedly made the issue a talking point in his bid to return to the White House, framing transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports as a matter of fairness and safety.
In February, he signed an executive order against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Newsom, to an extent, has also raised concerns about transgender athletes competing against biological women, which has drawn criticism from the LGBTQ community and within his own party. In the first episode of his new podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” he said the issue is one of “fairness.”
When asked by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk whether he would speak out against transgender athlete AB Hernandez, a Jurupa Valley High School senior who had just won a girls’ triple jump event at the Ontario Relays invitational in February, Newsom said he believes “it’s deeply unfair.”
“I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness,” he told Kirk.
Earlier this month, Hernandez won the girls’ triple jump at a track meet held at Yorba Linda High School, and also placed third in the long jump and eighth in the high jump. Protesters showed up at the meet over her participation, including Chino Valley Unified board president Sonja Shaw, who’s also running for the California schools chief post.
Ahead of the meet, JSerra Catholic High School, Orange Lutheran and Crean Lutheran sent a letter to CIF challenging state policy that allows students to compete in sports based on their gender identity.
“If leaders as different as Trump and Newsom can agree that fairness is at stake, we should be able to as well,” Capo Unifieid Trustee Davis said.
Superintendent Chris Brown said the resolution “does not change our policies in any shape or form.” District spokesperson Ryan Burris added that the resolution “does not relieve us of our responsibility to follow applicable state and federal laws.”
But the symbolism was enough to ignite fierce debate.
“The consequences, of course, will be division in the community as you’re seeing in the public right now and in the media,” Brown said when asked about the consequences of passing the resolution.
Davis argued that the resolution is “not about exclusion,” but about fairness, and that it’s “not anti-anyone.”
But several speakers, including longtime residents of the district and a local law professor, disagreed.
Susan Keller, a professor at Western State College of Law in Irvine, argued that while the resolution isn’t enforceable, it sends a message that transgender, nonbinary and intersex students don’t exist or that their identities aren’t valid.
Sherine Smith, a former Capistrano teacher and former Laguna Beach Unified School District superintendent, said the meeting’s tone left her heartbroken.
“What we saw tonight was really divisive. You have the opportunity to build bridges. You have the opportunity to build trust, to expand feelings of inclusion, to help people feel that they belong in this district,” she said.
Capistrano is not alone in wading into this debate.
In Santa Ana Unified, the school board voted this week to censure Trustee Brenda Lebsack, accusing her of making anti-trans public comments.
During an April 22 meeting — while the board was honoring Arab American Heritage Month — Lebsack thanked a local Muslim resident for organizing an interfaith clergy gathering, saying the group discussed issues that “impact their families, cultural and religious values,” including opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Lebsack began her comments by noting, “Since 93% of Arabs are Muslim,” which the rest of the trustees said effectively conflated an entire faith with opposition to transgender inclusion in athletics.
Board President Hector Bustos said the censure was about making clear that Lebsack’s views “are not a reflection of our school district.”
But Lebsack said she’s being accused of transphobia for advocating her personal belief that female athletes have a right to fair and safe competition.
“I was very shocked that this would have such a strong outcry, and I believe a lot of people believe that way, that they want to protect girls’ spaces,” she said.
Meanwhile, in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, a resolution supporting “policies that restrict participation in women’s sports to athletes who are biological females” failed in a recent 3-2 vote. Supporters there said it was about common sense and standing up for girls, while opponents warned it would violate California law.
CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag said the agency “does not collect data” on transgender athletes, but pointed to California law, which allows students to participate in school activities in accordance with their gender identity.
“The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law,” Brutlag said, “consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records.”
Similar measures aimed at keeping transgender athletes out of women’s sports have been passed by several other school boards in California, including those in Chino Valley, Temecula Valley and Redlands.