CHENEY, Wash. — The Cheney School District is one of four school districts in Washington state under federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The investigation centers on allegations of discrimination against women and girls in sports.
The Office for Civil Rights released a statement saying they are “aggressively pursuing allegations of discrimination against women and girls by entities which reportedly allow males to compete in women’s sports.”
The Cheney School District declined to speak with NonStop Local but acknowledged awareness of the investigation. They stated their intention to cooperate throughout the process.
The Kennewick School District is among several districts seeking guidance from the Department of Justice. Kennewick School Board President Gabe Galbraith expressed the need for clarity, asking, “Do we, like, are we following federal law, state law? We’re in a really weird place,” he said.
NonStop Local reached out to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for an interview on the latest developments. While they declined an interview, they released a statement reiterating Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s message from last year. The statement emphasized that “Washington state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and school districts are acting in alignment with state law when they provide trans students with the opportunity to participate in athletics in alignment with their gender identity.”
Readers may want to explore further details on the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and Washington state laws on gender identity to better understand the context of this investigation.
